White Lies
by Paper Ann
Summary: What do you do when the person you fall in love with has no intention of commitment? Raito/L, AU
1. Chapter 1

_White Lies_  
Part 1

The room was filled with the obnoxious, grating voice of Lindsay Lohan.

Raito hated Lindsay Lohan.

It made no sense for him to be listening to her, but the fact was Sayu had been counting down the days for the DVD release since she had missed the flick in theatres, and Raito was a very good brother.

He squirmed around on the overstuffed couch as he attempted to suffer silently through the film. Every once in a while he would glance over to watch Sayu's expression. This captivated his interest much more than the movie - she was ridiculously animated.

It had become a science, watching Sayu. Whenever she squinted her eyes, her mouth would open slightly, and her nose would scrunch up. It would stay that way until something amusing happened, then she'd smile, and a snort would tighten her mouth closed and flop her nose back into place. She'd raise her eyebrows and unconsciously lean in the moment she saw a cute boy – it was obvious to Raito that Sayu was getting into that love-struck age.

A rough laugh exploded from Raito's throat. He couldn't take it anymore.

Sayu whipped around to glare at him, "What's your deal?"

"This is making me dumber by the second," Raito tried to say under his breath, stretching out and grabbing the blanket folded on the back of the couch.

"Shhh. I'm trying to watch this."

"Trying to watch what?" Raito threw his arms up, "This mess attempt to act?"

"I don't get why you're complaining," Sayu pointed her finger, "You don't have anything else to do on a Friday night."

Raito crossed his arms and had to admit, it was true. But that didn't stop him from commenting, "Yeah, it's pretty pathetic I have to hang out with my sister instead of doing something fun."

"I'm going to kill you. Let me watch my movie!"

Raito was obedient and silent as he watched the timer on the DVD creep from 0:49:30 to 0:53:19. By 0:53:21, he couldn't keep quiet anymore. He began repeating the lines of the movie under his breath just to entertain himself. At 0:54:02, Sayu's fist collided unceremoniously with Raito's thigh.

"That hurt!" Raito said, bending over to grab it, "That's going to leave a bruise."

Before Sayu could say anything in retort, her phone rang from the coffee table on which their feet were resting. She shot Raito a glare as she picked it up with a, "Hey Misa!"

Raito grabbed the remote and paused the movie, knowing Sayu wouldn't want to miss an instant of the action. Raito's thoughtfulness was really selfishness - he couldn't deal with the movie another second.

"Yeah, we're actually watching it right now," Another pause, "Sure, bye."

He raised an eyebrow, "What did she say?"

Sayu grinned, "Misa's coming over and wants to watch the movie with us. I'm sure she'll want to see it from the beginning."

"Are you kidding me? I can't watch this again!" Raito's raised voice wasn't even for dramatics, he was that upset.

"Get over it. She'll be here in two seconds," Sayu looked at the paused screen and jeered over to the TV, "Now that might be the hottest boy ever."

"I don't know if I can take this," the man admitted.

"Let's grab something to eat upstairs," Sayu pulled the blanket from Raito, who was glaring daggers at her, "I need food to go with this wonderful movie experience."

Raito growled, but stood up and followed her.

They walked up the creaking wood steps from the basement and into the kitchen. Raito couldn't help but notice his thigh throbbing from the last punch, but nothing was comparable to the boredom and annoyance he was experiencing watching the movie. He was thinking about leaving when Misa got there.

Sayu was right, though – he didn't have anything else to do on a Friday night.

It had become ritual since Raito broke up with his girlfriend of six months. Sibling nights were mending his "broken heart" and normally he had a blast hanging out with Sayu. Tonight was a rare exception.

"We should have rented Anchorman again," Raito groaned as he pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed a beer.

"We've seen Anchorman over fifty times. Live a little."

"I don't consider this cinematic masterpiece 'living.'" Raito jumped up to sit on the edge of the counter, "Misa won't want to watch this; we should just run out and get something different."

"_Misa_ told me it came out today."

"Really?" Raito asked, opening his drink, "I don't think I can consider her my friend anymore."

"Want me to warm up this Chinese from the other day?" Sayu asked, opening the Styrofoam box and smelling it, "I think it's still good."

"Can't we just order pizza or something?"

"Eh, we'll see if Misa wants any when she gets here. I guess I could go for some, you sure you don't want this?"

"I don't want your tofu leftovers," Raito teased and noticed as headlight flashed from in the driveway, "Looks like she's here."

Sayu decided pizza sounded good regardless, and tossed the old food into the trash.

Misa never knocked, and today was no different. She walked in with a smile on her face, basically covered by an overdramatic 'look at me' hat, "How is the movie so far?"

"A piece of crap," Raito interrupted, "And you're the one making us watch it from the start."

Misa stepped away from the door, a man following close behind, "Hey, I hope you don't mind I asked L to hang out with us too."

Raito had only seen L one other time at a party, but had never talked to him. L was too busy lurking in the corner, which didn't make Raito want to go out of his way to introduce himself. He wasn't aware him and Misa were such good friends that she would bring him to hang out.

"That's cool, you guys wanna order a pizza?" Sayu asked, grabbing the phone.

Misa looked back at L, "I do! What sounds good?"

L didn't respond, but pulled his hood off.

"I want a pepperoni pizza," Raito announced, "You two vegetarians can get your own. Do you want to split one, L?"

"Possibly," he walked in towards the younger man, "I know I've met Sayu, but I haven't really met you. You're Raito, right?"

"Nice to officially meet you, are we supposed to shake or something?" Raito looked at the other men with a laugh, "Do you want a beer?"

"This is my place, Raito!" Sayu opened the refrigerator, "Do you want a beer, L?"

'_You mean mom and dad's' _her brother wanted to add under his breath, even though the parents were out of town.

"I'll hold off. Thanks, though."

Raito raised an eyebrow at how direct and short the man was being. He wasn't sure if L was shy or arrogant. He was used to throwing friendly insults and teasing Sayu and his friend's, and all this 'please and thank you' talk was a strange happening inside the home.

With the phone in hand, Sayu looked at everyone and said, "You guys can go down stairs and start the movie. I'll call this in and grab some drinks."

"You mean destroy the movie," Raito grumbled.

"Not a fan?" L asked as Raito led the way down the stairs.

"How did you guess?" The man watched as Misa cut ahead of them and jumped onto the couch.

"Wanna know a secret?" L walked up closer and said in a hushed voice, "I saw it in theatres and I've never had something waste more of my time."

A smirk spread across Raito's face, "Now _that's_ what I'm talking about. We can bash together."

"You bash the movie; I'll bash your heads in!" Sayu groaned, holding four drinks in her hands as she followed them down the stairs, "Are you two jerks going to give me trouble?"

"Of course not," L gave her an uncannily innocent (but almost creepy) look, "But I'll warn you that the ending is quite tragic."

"Don't say anything else!" Misa shouted dramatically from the couch, "I will disown you if you ruin it!"

Raito snickered and wrapped an arm around L's shoulders, "This guy's the only one who knows what he's talking about. This movie is appalling! Don't worry, if Misa disowns you, I'll take you in."

"I'm not listening!" Misa grabbed the remote control and pumped up the volume as loud as it would go as Sayu took a seat next to her.

L followed suit and took a seat at the chair alongside, and instantly brought his knees to his chest as he sat. Raito decided to be annoying and wedge himself between the two on the couch. He refused to sit on the floor.

As soon as the opening credits rolled, Raito threw his head back with a grunt and was reminded he much he hated the movie.

Luckily, fifteen minutes later, the pizza came.

Seven minutes later, the pizza was devoured, and Raito was up to three beers.

Two minutes after that, Raito was bored out of his mind again.

"I need a break," the restless man stood up and headed for the stairs, "I may never come back."

"I'll come with you." L stood before his self-invitation was accepted, earning a sigh from Misa.

"You're missing all the action."

"Even if Raito-kun runs away, I'll be back soon," he assured.

It was a little past midnight as the two men walked outside on the porch. Raito set his current beer on the railing and pulled out his phone to check his new texts. Raito offered L some of the practically new drink and as expected L immediately and cordially said no. Raito shrugged his shoulders.

"I think I ate too much," L took a deep breath. "I feel sick. Or perhaps it's because my diet usually doesn't include things such as pizza."

"I'm still hungry!" Raito leaned against the railing.

"I'm impressed. You ate more than half of it." L felt mildly disgusted at the thought, "Raito-kun must have a killer metabolism."

"Nah, it's just the drugs."

An awkward silence fell between the two of them.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! It's a joke!" Raito cracked up, "I can always eat."

"You succeeded in making me slightly uncomfortable," L said and watched Raito put his phone away, "But it would make sense. Raito-kun's rather skinny."

"Skinny guys bother you? Because I hate to break it, but you're skinnier than I," He teased.

"Nope," L said in a completely monotone voice, "I don't have an affinity to people in general."

"I'm glad you're loosening up and playing along with me," Raito pushed his hand into his pocket, "You were so unreadable at the beginning of the night."

"Hm," L did recognize their bond over pepperoni and bad movies, "You're not as unreadable now as well."

After replying with a simple smile, Raito asked, "So if you already saw the movie and didn't like it, why come here to watch it?"

"I was hanging out with Misa and she wanted to come over. I couldn't say no."

"Well I'm glad."

L just stared, "Someone to share your pain?"

"Nah," Raito took a step in and smirked.

"Have something else in mind?" L backed up a little; unsure of what to expect.

Raito backed him into the porch railing and put his hands on both sides of L. L could smell the alcohol on the younger man's breath. But for some reason, when their lips met he didn't pull away. It wasn't a hesitant, sweet kiss, but it wasn't a dramatic sloppy kiss either. He was testing the water, which had to mean he wasn't _entirely_ drunk.

L was interested in the situation and let his eyes flutter closed and Raito's tongue pushed into his mouth. Raito's arms looped around the other man's waist and pulled him closer. L still didn't make any advancement. He just let things happen; he didn't push further, but he certainly didn't pull away.

Both men weren't quite sure why it happened, but it felt organic – not right or wrong when it was happening, that was why L decided to then explore on his own. Tracing the arms around his waist, his hand trailed up Raito's forearms, grazed his shoulders and then brushed against his cheekbone near their kissing mouths.

They pulled away, pressing their own lips together and stopped.

"I just wanted to kiss you," Raito threw out. "I wasn't being a creep, it was just an urge."

L blinked, "It's fine."

What L didn't want to admit was that it was a little more than _fine_ – he had actually enjoyed it a lot. He smiled back and plainly said, "I might want to kiss you again."

Raito raised an eyebrow, took the long, last chug of his drink and carelessly tossed it on the deck.

L stepped in and wrapped one arm around Raito's shoulder, another seized his face. Raito's arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him close. Their lips pressed together, and they were a couple of high-school kids, kissing for the sake of kissing, with no ulterior motives.

If only life was that easy.

End of part


	2. Chapter 2

Note: I didn't give any notes and/or warnings in the first chapter, pretty much because I just wanted to publish it. This is my first time writing in years, and my first attempt at this fandom so it's going to be trial and error (especially since it's an AU), but I'm excited to start writing again :) Feedback would be amazing, but more than that thanks for reading!

White Lies  
Part Two

A piercing ringtone filled the room, and Raito woke up with a jerk. He let his eyes adjust to the light shining through the windows before he grabbed the phone and turned off the alarm.

8:15.

It was barely enough time to get in the shower and get to work.

"You didn't tell me you had to get up, it's a weekend!" Sayu complained from the couch, Raito had fallen into a drunken slumber on the floor the night before.

"One of my friends asked me to cover their shift," Raito informed her, standing up and rubbing his head.

"Friends?" Sayu echoed, "You have friends other than me? Why weren't you with them last night instead of being a jerk with me?"

"Because you're my baby sister," he cooed at Sayu and kissed her on the forehead, "I'm using the shower."

"Don't wake me on your way out, I'm going back to sleep."

* * *

Less than twenty minutes later, Raito slid into his car. He rolled down his windows because the fresh heat from the shower on him instantly fogged the glass. The radio nearly scared him to death - it had been pumped from the night before when he turned the car off.

He was a professional at multi-tasking in the car. He scooped up his only pair of sunglasses from the dashboard and flipped through his iPod. He glanced at the clock and decided he barely had enough time to hit a drive-through to get a cup of coffee. Coffee reminded him of his itching, and extremely secret want to smoke, which he answered by pulling out his cigarettes. He couldn't bring them around Sayu, or anyone else who might tattle on him. It was a bad habit he picked up during a semester of finals where, although he wasn't worried about the material, his classmates made it unbearably stressful during group projects and always offered him cigarettes when they went out for breaks. Which he eventually, and frequently accepted.

After lighting up and waiting for change at the Tim Horton's window, Raito haphazardly blew a cloud of smoke in the employees face. He cursed to himself and hoped to god the woman didn't spit in his drink.

Of course, he was on his way with less than two minutes before he was supposed to be there. When he slammed the car door shut and headed for the mall entrance, he pulled out his phone and typed a quick text to Sayu.

_Do you have L's number?_

L was sitting at his dining room table when his faux 'little brother', Near, walked in.

* * *

"What're you working on?" He asked, peering over his shoulder and sliding in a chair.

"Nothing exciting," L took in a deep breath, "Balancing my checkbook."

"Huh. Thought you'd be _working_," Near studied his face before adding in, "you haven't been a lot lately, have you?"

He shrugged, "I've lost some of the desire."

"I miss you around here every night, we should… do something. Maybe you could help me with this project I'm working on," Near leaned into the table.

L looked up, "I haven't planned anything tonight."

"Good. I'm going to run some errands, but I'll be back later today and hope you don't forget!"

The older man turned his attention back down to his task at hand, "I'll be here."

* * *

After checking out a total of five customers in three hours, Raito sat behind the counter just waiting for someone to buy something. There had been dozens of people in and out of the store, but he had come to a decision all the cheap people were out and browsing today. His friend, Mello, had run out to grab a snack for the two of them (probably overly sweetened) since it was so dead, even though he wasn't scheduled for a break.

No one would notice anyway - everyone else was either texting or thumbing through the magazines in the store. His mind was elsewhere.

'Elsewhere' being last night. Specifically, L.

The night before, 'a breath of fresh air' had been forgotten when their lips met. The kissing hadn't stopped until the movie was done and Misa had wanted to take off. They had avoided an awkward moment when they heard Sayu and Misa laughing from inside the house and quickly pulled away from one another. They attempted not to look guilty - Raito had pulled out his cell phone just before Misa walked through the door.

They had smirked at each other and exchanged casual, "nice to meet you's" again before Misa led L away for the night. Raito had found it exceedingly difficult to hide his hard-on when the girls came out, but he managed to distract himself by googling the holocaust quickly on his phone. His efforts were commendable considering the amount of alcohol he'd had in his system.

Speaking off the previous night, his phone vibrated in his pocket, and since there was no one around he pulled it out. It was a text from Misa.

_I wish we could have hung out more last night : (_

Raito signed and wondered if he should even give it a response. His situation with Misa… was _strange._ He decided to bite the bullet and send a response.

_I'm at work right now. I'm sure I'll see you soon._

He knew if he didn't write back he'd get a series of 'I missss you' and 'why don't you loooove me?' He had tried to talk to other people ever since he found himself single again, and Sayu had wanted to introduce him to her friend. She seemed like a nice girl at first, but then, by the second date (a group date, none the less) she had gotten clingy. As if they had been together for years. Obviously, he was immediately turned off and tried his best to ignore the blonde, which was next to impossible since on those two dates, she was not only Sayu's friend, but had made friends the rest of the group he normally hung out with. Now it was a constant struggle to make sure she didn't think he was leading her on, and keeping a healthy relationship with everyone else with her in the picture.

Raito had zoned out at the register and barely noticed Mello had got back with a bag of McDonald's in his hand, as well as a plastic bag of what he assumed was candy from the gas station next door.

"Hey, get over here," he called and grinned as he walked, "Marie and Hikari have been douching around in the back too long, it's our turn."

"Can I get an amen?" Raito joked and nodded at the woman in question as she exited the room.

The door flipped closed behind them and Mello unloaded the burgers, fries and apple pies from the paper bag. Naturally, he kept the treats to himself. He pushed Raito's food over to him and took a sip of his drink, "Anything cool happen while I was gone?"

"If by cool you mean a nine year old trying to beg his mom to buy him a Marilyn Manson shirt when I kept telling them we don't sell them, then yes." Raito shoved a few fries in his mouth, yet continued to speak, "So it's been _wild_ around here."

Mello raised an eyebrow, "Did he buy anything else?"

"Hell no. Why are we talking about this?" With a frown, Raito noticed, "they only gave me, like, a half of a pickle."

"Wanna go back and yell at them?"

"No, I'd rather sue. I've got so much debt right now, I don't need a pickle, I need a hundred grand."

"Let's find a bug and put it in there," Mello giggled as he grabbed a necklace with a silver dragon fly on it from a stock box and tossed it at Raito, "This should work."

Snatching it before it hit the table, Raito couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, this'll be perfect. I'll be in the money now!"

Mello sat back down, "Why do I love McDonald's ketchup so much? I buy the fries so I can eat the ketchup. Is that weird?"

"Yeah, but I guess Sayu does that with Arby's sauce," Raito sighed, "I have some strange friends with condiment obsessions, does that mean I should fixate over something like soy sauce?"

"I dated an Chinese girl about a week ago," he threw in helpfully, "she was hot."

"You know who's hot?"

"That Asian chick?" Mello wiped the excess of 'special sauce' from his burger on the corner of his box.

"This guy I met last night," Raito shrugged and decided it would be fine if he dipped his own fries in Mello's unwanted sauce.

"Raito, how many times do I have to tell you, the only dick I need in my life is my own," Mello jabbed a finger into his chest, "it's so weird to think you've ever dated a girl. You're a closet _freak_."

"Just because you're not doesn't mean you wouldn't think this guy was hot. His hair was longer and messy anyway, he wouldn't have to put in much effort if he wanted to look like a girl."

"Nice," he adjusted his hat, "that makes it so much better."

"Nah, Misa brought him over to hang out, and I took over from there," Raito had a mischievous glint in his eyes, "but the night ended earlier than I wanted it to."

"Bummer. Only get a blowjob?"

"I didn't even get a hand job. I'm losing my touch. Now I'm sexually frustrated," the man finished off his fries and sighed, "wanna fuck?"

"Oh, Raito. How young, how naive," Mello tsked, "you need to at least take me out to dinner."

"Fair enough. Too bad I'm broke," Raito stuck out his tongue, "too bad for you."

"My shattered heart will heal, rest easy tonight," he took a loud sip of his drink. "But don't you think that's weird, that _Misa_ brought him over? I never thought she would hang out with any guy besides you. Or at least let you see her with another guy."

"She probably knows he's not into her. Besides, she needs more friends to get over her obsession with me. That works out, especially since I got to meet him."

Mello sighed, "Sometimes you are so full of yourself."

"Not full of myself. Just confident. Especially when girls throw themselves at me when they don't even have a clue about me."

"Maybe you got some action from Misa, with all that throwing she's doing," Mello grinned, "sure that wasn't why you were late to work today?"

"Nope. Just got a hangover and a sore back. I passed out on Sayu's floor," Raito paused for a second to think, "I think."

"How is Miss Yagami these days? I haven't talked to her in a while," Mello got to the icy bottom of his cup with a sharp suck.

"Well, she's got terrible taste in movies."

"That, I remember."

"She's doing well in school, doing the good kid thing. You know, like I did for a while," Raito said thoughtfully.

"Oh, the good ol days. Are we seeing her tonight?" Mello reached into the bag again, "Want an apple pie?"

"You got pies?"

"Two for a dollar, man. You know you like pies," he stated, setting one in front of him, "plus I got some chocolate syrup for us to dip them in."

"You're such a weird one," Raito didn't make a move to touch it.

"Eat the goddamned pie."

* * *

Sitting in one place was something L was trying to get away from. He spent enough time doing it as it was. Ever since he promised Near he would stay put, since the boy wasn't even there, it was getting more difficult by the second. Especially when his phone rang with a text alert.

_A bunch of us are going out to a bar to watch the game tonight. You interested?_

It was from Misa.

Even though he knew no one was at the house, he looked around and took a deep breath.

_What time?_

Tapping his fingers on the table, he could only hope Near would walk through the door right now so _they_ could do something and he wouldn't be tempted to take off.

_Around 8, kickoff's 8:15_

L cursed to himself. He could think of moving things around, maybe Near wouldn't mind. Maybe he could even invite him to the game.

_Who will be there?_

This conversation was stressing him out, but his housemate wasn't here to give him any advice so he could only assume what he'd say.

_The usual, you, me, Sayu, Mello, Raito, Matsuda, and Matt._

L's eyes zero'd in on one particular name and shook his head.

_I'll be there._

_What time do you want me to pick you up?_

_Don't worry about it, my car's fixed and I can drive tonight._

_OK see you then._

* * *

L cursed himself as the time rolled around and he forgot to ask where he was going. Near still wasn't home, and he didn't have a chance to talk to him. L stepped out of his raggedy lounging jeans, and into his public-approved jeans although there wasn't much of a difference. He walked down the stairs - then reached into his pocket and scrolled to find Misa's number.

_Where are we meeting?_

_Gator's, see you in a few._

With his keys in hand, L pulled open the front door to see just who he wished to see earlier walking up to it.

"Hey," Near looked at L hesitantly, "where are you going?"

"To watch the game. Do you wanna come with me?" L tried to force a smile.

The younger man sighed and shook his head, "You don't even like sports. But do what you wish."

L's eyes followed him as he walked past, "Near, I didn't sign a contract saying I was staying in tonight. It's just a casual get together and I think you might be entertained if you came."

"Just go. I'll see you later," Near grabbed the door handle.

"I'll be home tonight," L tried to get him to look back.

He did, but with a sarcastic breath said, "Whatever you say. I won't expect much, since I didn't have you sign a contract or anything."

"I promise, I'll call you and tell you when I'm coming back and if by some chance I can't make it home." L was trying to make eye contact, but the boy looked away and shut the door.

Normally, L would feel slightly guilty, but this time all he could think about was getting to the bar and visiting with the group – especially one of them. That was how he turned his back, got in his car and drove. Gator's was about fifteen minutes away, and the random news stations he was listening to would keep him company.

* * *

Raito walked into the bar alongside Mello, their shift getting out at the same time.

"Aren't you festive?" Misa greeted, flicking Mello's Bronco's hat.

"Fuck yeah, I bleed orange and blue," he said rolling his eyes. Raito had grabbed it from a hat kiosk in the middle of the mall from a friend and gifted it to Mello.

"You should get that looked at," Matsuda snorted at the comment.

As they gathered around the table, which was actually one of the best seats in the house to watch the game, they noticed everyone was there besides Matt, Sayu and L.

"I'm surprised you two were on time," Misa commented, Raito having reluctantly taken a seat next to her when she patted it.

"Yep. We were let out a little early, actually."

"Not really _let out_. More like whined, complained and begged so they got rid of us," Mello filled them in.

"That really works?" Misa laughed out loud.

"Well, bargaining with Mello's chocolate stash doesn't hurt," Raito winked.

"You're so creative," Misa shouted and wrapped her arms around Raito's neck, "Well, as long as you're here, ya gotta do what you gotta do!"

"So what's this about a chocolate stash?" A new voice asked, taking the other seat next to Raito.

Raito looked at L, who wore an almost mischievous look on his face. Sayu had also arrived, pulling up a stool next to Mello.

"Chocolate works for everything," Raito explained, "Sayu knows."

"I'm giving up sweets because I'm trying to keep my girlish figure in shape," Sayu's voice was playful and she stuck out her tongue.

"Don't women have curves?"

L let out a dramatic sigh, "Well, don't I feel left out."

"It's all right, I've forgiven you for last night," Misa ruffled L's hair, removing her arm's from Raito and reaching over him, "If your sweet-tooth can't be tamed."

"The last time I had chocolate, it was really my nephews shit he was spreading on a wall," Matsuda said, casually thumbing through his menu.

* * *

A moment of silence passed between them before Sayu spoke up, and said mildly disgusted, "Some things you should just keep to yourself…"

Right before half-time, Matt arrived with a very detailed account of how he tried to help a woman with a flat tire who offered to pay him in beans. The most bizarre things happened to Bob, and half the group wondered if his luck was really that bad, or he had a wild imagination. No one had accused him for being a _liar_ but no one took him seriously.

Naturally, hot wings, fries, candy wrappers two of the men snuck in and a few beer bottles lay scattered all over the table, with everyone's eyes firmly on the game.

Almost everyone's.

Raito turned over with a smile to L, who managed to catch his eye. The bar was loud enough for anyone to have an undisturbed conversation no matter how far away they were, and it just so happened they were sitting next to one another.

"Not into the game?" Raito asked the man next to him.

With a shrug, L replied, "Not really into football."

"A baseball guy?"

"No. No sports, actually."

"Oh," Raito raised an eyebrow, "so an ice-skating guy."

L countered, "I don't like ice-skating. _That's_ a sport too; I clearly said I'm not really into sports.'"

"No, it's not!" Sayu threw in, obviously eavesdropping, "And if we're getting into this can of worms, cheerleading isn't a sport either!"

"I'm pro-choice!"

All eyes turned awkwardly to Matsuda.

He shrugged, "I thought we were just throwing in things that are controversial."

"Touchdown!" Misa cheered, turning everyone's attention back to the TV. "Yay!"

The bar turned rowdy again and Raito scooted in to talk to L, "Well, what do you like, if there isn't a sport out there for you? Are you really a man?"

L lowered his voice and with a smirk said, "I think we're both aware I'm a man."

The smirk was contagious and Raito had to admit, he _was_ quite the man.

Raito casually placed his hand on L's knee and whispered into his ear, "I had fun last night."

L whispered, "We could have had a lot more fun."

He pulled back to look into L's eyes to see if he was serious or just toying with him. The "innocent" smile told Raito all he needed to know.

"What are you doing after this?"

"That depends," L glanced back up at the television screen, "on what you have in mind."

"I'm sure I can think of something that would keep us occupied," Raito gave a squeeze to L's knee.

"We'll see. Actually, I need to go outside and make a call," L stood up and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

"Mind if I join? All this noise is getting old."

He nodded, and Raito followed him out, the others barely even noticing they had left.

* * *

L dialed Near's number from outside in the parking lot. It rang continuously until his voicemail answered. L knew Near was probably avoiding him, but it made it much simpler if he was talking to the answering machine and not the boy himself.

"It's me. I wanted to let you know that I'll be hanging out with the group after the game. I probably won't make it home tonight. We'll plan something for tomorrow."

As soon as L closed his phone, he looked up to meet Raito's eyes, "There. No obligations."

"The group after the game?" Raito repeated.

"You're a guy from a group after the game."

"Yes. So I take it your roommate was expecting you home?" Raito lit up a cigarette since they were away from everyone inside.

"I didn't know you smoked." L changed the subject.

"Bad habit," Raito offered L a cigarette, "Want one?"

"No, there are much better ways to die out there besides something as self-destructive as lung cancer."

"Well, you showed me."

L's stopped a moment, wondering if he had made things tense by blatantly scolding him. Clearly, Raito didn't think it was too tense – L let himself be pulled forward and kissed chastely on the neck.

"It'd be a wise decision for us not to begin this again," L whispered, glancing around the parking lot to see if there was anyone around. As Raito continued to nibble his neck, he eventually gave into the touch.

"If you're not into the game, wouldn't you rather be somewhere else?" Raito's warm breaths puffed along L's nape, forcing him into taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, but you're here with friends and you like football-"

"I also like you. Let's just hang out and get to know each other a little better," Raito pulled away and grabbed both L's hands so they were hanging in front of them.

"Starbucks?" L requested with a smile, "I'd enjoy a mocha right now. And probably a piece of coffee cake."

Raito raised an eyebrow, but then nodded his head, "Then Starbucks it is."

End of Part


	3. Chapter 3

White Lies  
Part Three

The rowdy bar was in full volume as Matsuda looked around for the two men who had gone missing a while ago. It was a little after half-time when they left, and the game was now in the final quarter. Sayu obviously picked up on this:

"L probably went back home, I know he was planning on hanging out with that roommate of his tonight. Raito's either wandering or bored with us," Sayu's explained, "they're probably done for the night."

Matsuda nodded, "I haven't seen Near in a long time, I wonder what he's been up to."

"I don't know either. L talks about him a lot, but Near never wants to come and hang out with us. It kind of bums me out," Matt joined into the conversation, "I used to see him so much, but now L doesn't really hang out with him."

"Well, it's good they're getting time together," Sayu nodded, "and back to the game!"

* * *

Raito and L made a stop at a drive-through Starbucks and drove back to Raito's apartment. L had been the one in the driver's seat, since Raito was mildly intoxicated (another recent bad habit he'd picked up). The coffee would have normally helped sober him up, but when they got back to his home, he grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan.

They passed through the doorway and took a seat on the couch in front of the TV. L sipped his mocha (to which he had added a sickening amount of sugar) and Raito used his latte as a chaser. L had assumed from previous impressions Raito was a classy guy, but little things he did, like this, made him more and more intriguing.

"Here, you pick something," Raito slid him the control, "Since I trust you and your taste."

L pressed the TV on button and waited for it to fade in, grabbing the pastry he had also gotten.

At that moment, L couldn't multi-task, and Raito decided not to waste any time and snatched the remote back, turning it to a made-for-TV movie for the time being.

"Is your 'latte' good?" L smiled and gestured to the Captain Morgan.

"Good, but gone," Raito sighed and sat back in the chair.

"The latte?"

"The rum."

"Nice work, you're efficient," L couldn't help but laugh. After only knowing him for two days, L knew Raito could hold his alcohol. Even before that, he had heard rumors of his party animal behavior (at least in the few years of college he had managed to stick with).

"I have some vodka in the next room, you want a mixed drink or something?"

L rolled his eyes, "I think you're under the impression I'm a woman and I would _want_ a mixed drink in the first place."

"No, I just think you have special tastes."

They both curled up on the couch, pulling a knit blanket from Raito's grandmother on top of them, and continued channel surfing.

"Go back!" L instructed.

"Cash Cab?" Raito rolled his eyes.

"Don't try to tell me you don't like game shows. Look, it's a marathon! That means I'll spend the night watching this," L leaned in and grabbed the glass of water Raito brought out when he previously brought out the Captain Morgan. "You feeling it yet?"

"What?"

"The alcohol."

"Uh," Raito looked around the room, "not really. OK well... yeah, a little bit."

"Raito-kun's cute when he's intoxicated," L's words were casual.

Still, it sparked Raito's interest. "Cute, huh?"

"Yeah, like a chick, or puppy or something," L wanted to see where Raito's mind was.

"I'll go with puppy. As long as it's something badass like a husky," Raito took the controller and disregarded L's TV choice. Instead he flipped to his own guilty pleasure that was the Real World/Road Rules challenge and looked to the TV.

It was in the middle of a challenge when they tuned in, and the action drew both Raito and L into the show and away from the other. It was a season Raito had seen back when it aired, but the marathon was a treat to catch. Raito didn't want to admit it, but he also became very excited when a marathon of America's Next Top Model was on, ever since he watched it with his sister. _That _was something that would remain a secret until he died.

When a girl fell into the water, Raito laughed a lot longer than he should have which proved to L the alcohol was soaking into his blood stream.

L's fingers were hesitant to hover over Raito's hand, but he didn't have to think, Raito grabbed onto it. They didn't make eye contact - they kept watching the show. Even if they were watching, that didn't mean L wasn't focusing on the warm touch of Raito's hand. L leaned over and placed a kiss on his jawbone.

Raito closed his eyes and felt L's kisses move along his jaw line, to his ear, and then skip to his lips. Raito turned his body and brought up a hand to cup L's face. The older man gently sucked on Raito's bottom lip, and allowed himself to be pulled onto Raito's lap.

However, when Raito pulled him, it wasn't to a _seated _position, it was to a _straddle_. This was another thing L found endearing - the way Raito took advantages of situations.

L wrapped an arm around the back of Raito's neck as he settled on top of him - one leg bent, one stretched along Raito's body. Raito took a deep breath when he felt the older man's erection grind into his thigh.

"So if you kiss on the first date, how far do you go on the second one?" Raito asked with a wicked grin.

"I wasn't even aware we've been on dates," L languidly licked the shell of his ear, "I guess my morals are warped, or something."

"I don't know why you saying that turns me on," Raito giggled and reached up to press their lips together, "I shouldn't say that. Everything about you turns me on."

L's whimper was audible as he felt Raito's hand untuck the fabric of his shirt and slip inside his jeans. Raito wasn't bothering with the zipper just yet, because he loved to tease and give just enough to drive him crazy. He ran his fingers over the length and wrapped his hand around it right under the head. L tried to grind into Raito's hand from the awkward angle - Raito's touch smearing the pre-cum was sending shivers down his spine. It was so ironic - the following night they were across the room watching one of the worst films ever made, hardly being introduced to each other, and now L was straddling Raito, whose hand was down his pants.

"As much as I love making out on the couch listening to MTV in the background, I would love to move this little 'date' into Raito-kun's bedroom," L moaned as Raito continued to tease with his fingertips.

"I didn't even think this was a date," he mocked, pulling his hand out of L's pants.

L stepped off the couch and reached to help him up. The second Raito was on his feet was the second they were wrapped in each other's arms and kissing madly again. They couldn't manage four steps toward the bedroom before Raito shoved L hard against the hallway wall. They only broke their kiss for a moment - Raito tore L's shirt off and pinned him again.

The friction between their hips was overpowering until L spoke up, "You don't have much self-control, do you?"

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who made the first move tonight," Raito reminded, and pulled him away from the wall, "If you're having second thoughts, remember you were the one who suggested the bedroom."

"I did," L licked his lips suggestively, "because I get what I want, and I want _Raito-kun_."

Raito could feel his whole body pulse at those words. This wasn't the L he had spotted for the first time at a party. Even so, he didn't waste another moment and finished the walk, opened the door, and threw L down onto the bed. He climbed on top and met his hot passionate lips with equal spark.

"You move fast," Raito commented, and unbuttoned the man's pants, "My first impression was definitely wrong."

L sat up and grabbed Raito's face, tangling his fingers in Raito's dark hair, "You make me move fast. You better not stop."

"You're going to make me go crazy," Raito shook his head, taking in a deep breath and looked into L's eyes.

"Interesting concept," L grinned and grinded against the man's hips, "I think I'd enjoy that."

"It's gonna happen," Raito winked, "and it's gonna happen right now."

* * *

Near sat in the kitchen, nursing a cup of hot tea when he looked down at a missed call and a voicemail. He didn't even need to look to see who it was - he knew. As soon as he listened, his suspicions were confirmed - it was L and he wasn't coming home. He took in a deep breath and swished the tea bag around in the cup.

He missed who he looked up to like a brother, and as close as they had been through the years, they had been falling apart. L went through the motions, making sure he was content and tried to say all the right things, but nothing was like it used to be. The only time Near had been around L was between two and five o'clock in the afternoon. He would wake up, either at home or god knows where, eat something at their house, shower, and leave to do whatever it was he did at night.

It was just another disappointment, every time they tried to plan something and L acted like he cared, something else came up that was more important.

That's what hurt.

In the past, Near and L could always find something entertaining to do, just the two of them, and now it seemed like he was a hassle for L to be around. L may only see Near as a person he needed to appease, and Near hated it.

He deleted the message immediately - he didn't want to hear the rejection again. He'd thought about taking matters into his own hands and telling L how much he hated it and figure out just what was wrong between them, but he had a guess as to what it was and would rather live in ignorance.

Near didn't let the phone out of his hands. He typed in a quick text for someone he knew would have been at the game with L. He didn't want to know everything, but he wanted to make sure his brother was all right, since he didn't want to call himself.

* * *

As they were walking out of the bar, Matsuda looked down to grab his cell phone from his coat pocket.

_I hope you guys have fun tonight, tell L I'm working all day tomorrow, so I can't make him lunch._

Matsuda frowned as he read the message and turned to Sayu on his right, "I wonder where L went, he's not hanging out with Near."

Sayu sighed and shook her head, "He left with Raito, right? Let's not mention this to anyone, especially Misa. I'll talk to Raito first."

He knew the girl was right and wrote Near back quickly, it was for the best:

_Thanks! We'll have a good time. I'll dedicate a beer to you, deal? And L is bummed because he was looking forward to beef stroganoff tomorrow._

Matsuda flipped his phone shut and exchanged glances with Sayu, both having an idea about what was going on.

"I'll see him tomorrow afternoon. Then I'll have a little chat with him," Sayu hung back with Matsuda for a second to finish, "he shouldn't be hanging around with L. I don't want anything bad to happen. I feel really bad for Near."

"We should really get him to come and hang out with us. You have to wonder what that kid does by himself. At least L can geek out and find something to do, but Near really makes me wonder," Matsuda noted and then added, "We should catch up with the guys!"

* * *

After the game, the men headed back to Matt's house to play video games and have a party, regardless of Sayu's classes the next morning. While Matsuda normally held back, he decided to go all out, and got ridiculously crazy. He turned a normal game of Mario Kart into strip Mario Kart, and he was the only player.

Near sat at home reading a book and filled his mentor, Watari, in on the phone about what was going on in his life. When he asked about L, Near's voice faltered, but continued about a project he was involved in that 'took up most of his life.' He also discussed how he had become more social and Near didn't see him a lot. While Watari thought that was a good advancement, since L was unusually reclusive, Near wasn't going to be the one to argue because he hated it. They ended on a good note - discussing how one of their friends go a promotion and was able to afford the plasma TV he had been wanting.

All, however, were wondering where exactly L had wound up that night.

* * *

Around eleven o'clock, Raito woke with a dull throbbing in the back of his head while curled up on his right side. He wasn't sure if this morning would be awkward. He was reminded of everything that happened last night when he felt another person next to him stir.

That night had been a long time coming considering the lack of relationships he had lately, and he was very pleased this morning. He figured L wouldn't be uncomfortable, because he had been completely sober and willing. He was a little more than willing - he had practically begged for it.

Raito scooted closer to L and asked quietly, "Are you still asleep?"

L took a deep breath and rolled onto his back, eyes still closed, "Yep."

"I haven't slept that good in a while, I like having you here," Raito grinned and rubbed L's shoulder.

The man finally opened his eyes, "Yes?"

"Yes, sir. You make quite the body pillow."

"Are you calling me fat?" L asked with faux shock.

Raito laughed, "No way. Just saying you're warm, and soft, and comfy."

L raised an eyebrow, "I haven't been told that before."

"You're just one of the skinny people you hate," Raito stuck out his tongue, "because we skinny people have feelings too."

"What are you talking about? Sometimes Raito-kun is very strange."

"I just get weird bursts of energy in the mornings," Raito explained helpfully and flicked the tip of L's nose with his finger, "And despite being a little hung over, I'm pretty content."

"I'm content too. Especially with our performance last night."

"Such modesty," Raito kissed him, but closed-lipped, because he was afraid of his morning breath. He knew since he had been drinking the night before it would be rancid, "I admit you were pretty good."

"You're not bad yourself," L smirked and stayed tucked into the covers while slowly sneaking on top of the other man, "the real test is if you're that good when you're sober. It's very different having sex with a drunk man and a sober man."

"You wanna test this?" Raito raised an eyebrow as L straddled his lap, "You're a horny bastard, aren't you?"

"Not necessarily, I just enjoy morning sex," L pulled Raito's shirt over his head.

"And nighttime sex taking advantage of drunk men," Raito teased.

"And hot tub sex, rough sex, elevator sex, kitchen counter sex, phone sex, hardwood floor sex, role-play sex, bathroom sex, outdoor sex, and sometimes bondage sex," L grinned, "I win."

Raito admitted defeat, "Checkmate. Horny bastard."

L kissed his neck and mumbled in a way that sent shivers down Raito's spine, "Raito-kun gets me off better than anyone else can. And I want it again."

"Damn," Raito whispered, and shuttered, "Right to the point. You like shower sex?"

"Of course," L smirked, and let Raito pull him to his feet.

Raito pulled him in hard against his chest, "Let's get you out of those clothes."

A loud knock came crashing from the door downstairs.

"Seriously?" Raito spat out and looked back to see L suggestively pulling at the waistband of his pants.

Raito groaned and grabbed a shirt and pants to cover himself, "I'll be right back, I told Sayu I'd hang out with her today."

"Oh, I'll leave," L understood and began pulling on his clothes from the last night, "Even though I'm going to be extremely frustrated today."

"There's later tonight," Raito walked over and grabbed L's cock, pumping it a few torturous times, making L moan, "I'll even stay sober so we can test your theory."

"Mm, I'll be here," L licked his lips, "See you later."

With a simple kiss on the cheek, L walked down the steps, said good morning to Sayu and jumped into his car. Sayu let herself in after L left and called up to Raito the floor above.

"So, doing things I wouldn't approve of?"

Raito walked downstairs, grabbing his coat, "What do you mean?"

"Let's chat. Lunch?"

"Sure."

* * *

L drove off, but parked on a side street to pull out his phone. He wanted to talk to his brother.

_Hey Near, we had a good time last night and I'm excited for lunch. Do you need me to pick anything up at the grocery store?_

He was very surprised Near wrote him back quickly, because most of the time he ignored the messages.

_I told you last night I'm not going to be home for lunch._

L was confused for a second, and typed him back:

_When? I haven't checked my voicemails._

_When I talked to Matsuda and you guys were going to Matt's and he told you I wasn't going to be there._

L hesitated. He had told the men at the game he was leaving to see his little brother. His little brother thought he was staying out to hang out with the men at the game. Matsuda covered for him, but this wasn't something he wanted getting out. L took a deep breath before typing back.

_Oh yeah, I guess I didn't understand Matsuda that well. He was pretty tipsy, so I just nodded when he told me things. Have fun with what you're doing._

L shut his phone and cursed to himself.

* * *

Sayu and Raito got a table the second they got in. It was one of the two seaters instead of four, like they were on a date. Raito made a comment about it, and how he should have complained to get a booth. After a kiwi lemonade and a Dr. Pepper, Sayu turned her focus to Raito.

"After you left we took off to Matt's. He's got a new dog, a pug, and it's pretty cool. It's, like, one of those girly butch dogs that men and women can share..." Sayu cracked up at her words, "I bought it a little sweater to wear, just because I knew he'd love it."

"Oh, you're so funny," Raito remarked sarcastically.

"Yeah, Matt thought it was!" Sayu continued to giggle, "We didn't even spend the night there, because she was whining all night and Matt hadn't been getting any sleep."

"Hah," Raito nodded, "That's why I've never wasted time with a pet."

"You're no fun." Sayu then changed her voice to interested, "Seriously, I don't want to know, but did something happen with L night?"

"You were the one who was telling me to get out in the world," Raito shook his head thinking about it and admitted, "so yeah. You know what happened. It was pretty great."

"Yeah, I keep hearing that."

"Hearing what?"

"That he's pretty great. Since Misa is hooking up with him right now."

Raito stopped dead in his tracks and brought his eyes up to meet Sayu's, "What did you say?"

"Yeah," Sayu took a sip from her drink, "Why do you think she brought him out the other night?"

"Because they were friends. I didn't realize they were _something_," Raito felt like a knife stabbed him in the chest, "So L cheated on her."

"No, don't worry about that," Sayu sighed, "It's more of a friend with benefits thing. You know. To help her get over _you. _And I think it might be working. I actually wanted to talk to you because I wanted to let you know, L probably isn't who you think he is. I've heard a few things and he -"

"Doesn't believe in commitment," Raito cut her off.

With a shrug, Sayu said, "Yeah. He's not totally a bad guy. But from what I can tell he likes to play games."

"Games?' That's a nice way of putting it," Raito's voice was completely monotone, "Great."

* * *

There was two knocks before Misa opened the door to see L standing in front of her.

"Did you have fun with your bro last night?" Misa invited him in with a sweet smile.

"Yeah, we crashed after an hour or so. Video games get exhausting when you're playing with Near." L pulled off his coat, "You should know that."

"Yes, yes. That's what we were doing all last night. Such a guy thing!" Misa showed off her thumbs, red patterns from the buttons and all, taking a seat at the counter, "It was fun! Wish you were there."

"Mm, you know I had to be with Near." L pulled Misa's hand to his lips and gave her finger tips a light kiss.

Misa smiled and pulled her hand up to her face, along with L's lips, "It's all right, I get you all to myself today!" 

End of part


	4. Chapter 4

Notes: Thanks go out to The_Devils_Concubine for being a fabulous beta! Hope you enjoy this chapter :) Feedback is very, very appreciated!

White Lies  
Part 4

* * *

Raito wandered into work a half-hour early and headed straight into the back room to wait for Mello. Mello usually arrived a little early himself to eat his lunch and Raito wanted to catch him before they clocked in, even leaving his own lunch with Sayu to do it. It was fifteen minutes later that Mello walked through the door and sat down with a bag from Taco Bell.

He nodded at Raito, "Got something on your mind, man?"

"Yeah, a lot, actually. Did you know Misa is with L?" Raito sat there with his arms crossed.

"Yeah. I thought everyone knew that. Is it weird, or something?" Mello took a bite of his taco.

"Yeah, it's pretty fucking weird because I did L last night and wasn't aware of that."

"No way!" Mello's eyes grew wide, "L was the 'hot guy' you mentioned from the other day? Dude, I would have warned you right off the bat about that! He's shady! He even made out with Matt once. But that was supposed to be a secret. Oops."

"Yeah? I think that pisses me off even more," Raito gritted his teeth.

"Um. Yes, I can tell. Don't kill anyone, OK, man?" Mello was rather uncomfortable looking at Raito and the silent anger showing on his face, "If it makes you feel any better, I think he'll probably want to keep having sex with you. I mean, he's not a complete dick."

"He's a complete creep," Raito reached over and grabbed Mello's enchilada.

"What the fuck? That's mine," Mello grabbed for it.

"Shut up. I'm an emotional eater," Raito glared, "I'm just pissed that I didn't find out before hand."

"I completely understand," Mello nodded, "Now give me back my fucking enchilada." 

* * *

"Last night Near and I had a talk and we think we should spend more time together," L said, running his fingers through Misa's blonde locks, "I'm gonna try and meet him later. He said he wouldn't be at home for lunch, but after that I'll catch him."

"Are things all right with you two?" Misa leaned on her side, watching L's face while lying next to him on the bed, "You haven't been saying much about him, and we all used to hang out."

"I don't know how he'd feel if he found out about _us_," L bit his lip, "Because I'm not home a lot, he'll probably think that's the reason why and get pissed."

"Well, cuddling with me is worth it right?" Misa had a mischievous tone in her voice as she wrapped her arms around L's shoulders, "Invite him to join us."

"Misa," L chided, "Don't say things like that."

"I'm just teasing you," she placed a small peck on L's forehead before sitting up from the bed all the way, "Go make sure everything is good with Near."

L nodded and stood up, collecting his clothes.

"Nice mark," Misa commented from behind, "When did you get that?"

"What mark?" L asked, playing dumb.

Misa glared and walked over and flicked his collar bone, "That's not one of my hickeys. Get some action the other day? Maybe you _would _be interested in a threesome with your Near."

"You're strange," L rubbed the mark before pulling his shirt on, "You specifically told me you were still in love with Raito-kun."

"You're a jerk," Misa sighed, "You know I like you. Be careful, I might get jealous."

"You said you didn't have problems sharing, and I saw you with Raito-kun last night at the bar," L brought his lips to Misa's and kissed her teasingly, "So fair is fair."

"I know, I know. I guess I understand us. Does your lover know?" Misa cradled the back of L's head as their noses brushed.

"I'm not sure," he admitted.

"Who is it?" Misa kissed him again before grabbing L's jacket and holding it out.

"I don't know if I can disclose that information," L said as casually as ever.

"You're such a tease," Misa laughed, and realized there was quite a bit of jealously bubbling in her stomach, "When will you be back? I don't know if the guys are planning anything, but I would love to see you."

"I'm spending time with my brother, if he's up to it again."

"Hmm. Rejection!" Misa dramatically swung her arms, "I lie in wait for you, princess, whenever you would grace me with your presence, seeing as how I'm alone tonight, studying lines."

"Have I been acting feminine lately? It's quite strange that everyone is alluding to me as a girl. Last time I checked, I don't have a vagina, and we checked that less than a half hour ago. I'm relatively certain, it didn't grow in a half hour," L attempted to be humorous and put on his shoes.

"That would be interesting. Seeing a vagina grow," Misa thought wistfully, and then added, "Ewww."

"I'm taking off, I'll call you later," L said, walking down the hall to the door.

"We'll see, have a good time with your brother. Tell him I said hi." Misa waved him off and shut the door behind her.

She wondered if L was really going to see Near, or someone else. She was suspicious like that, and jealously was starting to get the best of her. 

* * *

L drove through a Wendy's for his lunch and dinner, since Near wasn't supposed to be home. He wished he knew how much time he had to waste before he came back. It was a little after six when he parked, and made his way inside. Near's car wasn't in the driveway, and he wasn't inside the house either. L hummed obnoxiously loud to clear the silence as he unloaded his food onto the wood table and pulled out a chair. His attention span was bad when he was bored, because he needed something to constantly keep him occupied.

He was getting cabin fever from this house, and couldn't put his finger on what it was.

It might have been the fact that he would rather be at other people's homes than his. He didn't want his brother to witness him bringing someone home, especially since the majority of his personal life he _needed_ to keep personal. He scratched his head as his mind wandered and jumped when a beeping blasted from his phone. When he heard that certain tone, it meant there's a number he didn't have in his cell calling him. He grabbed it before another loop of the noise could begin.

"Hello? Who is calling?"

"This is Raito, how're you doing?"

L smiled to himself and replied, "I'm doing well."

"What are you doing right now?"

He looking around the room, he shrugged, "Nothing."

"I wanna hang out - just got done with work. What do you wanna do?"

"Well, we could go eat," L quickly pushed his Wendy's aside.

"Sure, meet you at Chili's in twenty?"

"Sure," L paused and added, "I look forward to seeing you."

"Yeah, I'll see you soon."

Raito hung up. L frowned for less than a second before gathering and bagging the fast food. He set it in the refrigerator with a note that read: 'Dinner for Near' and then he was off. 

* * *

L was sitting at a table before the other man arrived, and was making the decision between a few different items, but started off with a chocolate shake. The waitress had already sat two waters on the counter top too. While caught up in his choice of dinner, Raito slid into the booth smoothly.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic," Raito went through all the motions, even though he wasn't that late and there was no traffic.

"I was a little early," L looked up from the menu, "How're you?"

"Not bad," Raito was trying desperately to get away from the awkward news from earlier today, "Do anything fun today?"

L easily lied, "Yeah, Near was actually home for lunch so we ate together."

"Huh. That's cool."

Another moment of awkward silence passed, and was only interrupted by a waitress with streaky brown hair asking, "What can I get ya to eat?"

"I'll get the ribs, side of fries," Raito glanced at the drinks, "and a Pepsi."

Deep in thought, the only thing Raito heard was something about fish and caramel apples before the woman walked off. He wasn't sure if he should just bring it up, let L bring it up (which he had a feeling wouldn't be happening any time soon) or just drop it all together.

"You look like you have something on your mind," L said and poked Raito's hand.

Raito let the man poke his hand for a few seconds, until the waitress came by and delivered his drink.

"I don't know," Raito was frustrated because he didn't know what to say. He could be completely blunt without a problem, but they were at a public restaurant and this wasn't something you could just come out and say. But he'd try, "Are you in a relationship right now?"

L echoed, "A relationship?"

"Something that would make what we did last night wrong."

"No. Why are you worried about that?" Lying came very easily to him, "What we did last night was _very_ right."

"I don't understand you," Raito said plainly.

"What's there not to understand?" He took a sip of his milk shake.

"You enjoy one night stands?"

"What?" L cocked his head to the side, "I thought we had made more plans for tonight."

"So you'd have two full time fuck buddies?" Raito stated dryly, cutting to the chase.

Once again, the silence crushed them. L was for once at a loss for words as Raito stared him down, awaiting an answer. But he couldn't come up with one quickly enough.

"It doesn't mean anything."

Raito raised an eyebrow, "So what does that mean? Are we doing some dating shit, while you have sex with someone else? Am I another friend you enjoy doing?"

"I don't date, I'm not interested in relationships. I enjoy you, Raito-kun, but if you're looking for true love, you're looking in the wrong place. I don't like titles, or responsibilities to people," L's words were so nonchalant, it made Raito sick. "You can be whatever you want to be with me, and I would understand if you don't like my lifestyle."

"How am I supposed to answer to that?" Raito grumbled.

All L could do was offer him a simple glance, "I hope, regardless of what Raito-kun wishes of me, we could at least still be friends."

Raito just shook his head, "Let's not think about this shit right now. I'm hungry and not in the mood."

"I agree." 

* * *

Near came home and immediately saw the food in the refrigerator. Obviously L wasn't there. He searched around for a note, or a text, or something that would let him know where he was off to. For the first time in a long time, he found nothing.

Which Near hoped meant L would be back soon and they might actually see each other tonight. But at the same time, nothing was for sure. Just so he'd prepare himself for the bad news, Near picked up his phone. It rang four times before someone picked up:

"Hey, Near! What's going on!"

"Hello Misa. I was wondering if you all were doing anything tonight."

"Is L not there?"

"No, I'm not sure where he is right now."

There was a pause on the other line, "I thought you guys were hanging out, but whatever. We're thinking about seeing a movie tonight at the IMAX. You should come!"

Near exhaled, "It's just a movie?"

"Yep, just a movie! No pressure! And we miss you!"

"All right, I'll be there."

"Great! It starts at 8."

Near took in a few more deep breaths before deciding it was the right decision. He couldn't just sit at home and wait for L to have time for him. This way, he could see L, their friends, and a movie where he didn't even need to be social, he just needed to be _present_. Perfect. 

* * *

The meal ended up going better than either of them thought after the introduction of Raito's discovery. The more they talked, the more they had in common - Raito hadn't needed to use much of his brain since he left college, and his talks with L made him dust off his forgotten intellect. Their conversations almost made him forget completely about Misa. Almost completely.

L looked down to his phone, and then up to Raito, "Are you interested in a movie?"

Raito was picking something out of his teeth and mocked a very serious face, "Why not?"

"Good," L nodded and wrote back a quick message, "Would you like to ride there together? It's starting soon."

"As soon as we get our check," Raito looked around obnoxiously for their waitress, "Sure."

"Raito-kun?"

Raito looked up to meet L's eyes, "Yeah?"

"Allow me to get the bill," L hailed the waitress quicker than Raito would have, "I feel bad about our situation."

"Well," Raito grinned mischievously, "At least it was phenomenal sex."

After leaving the restaurant and getting into L's car, Raito immediately turned on the radio without a second thought.

"I've never been to this IMAX," L stated, looking behind him and pulling out of the parking lot.

Raito stared at him and shook his head, "How long have you lived here?"

"Not that long, actually. Near and I moved here around a year ago. We very rarely stay in one place too long."

"Really? I thought you've been around here much longer," he leaned back in the seat and stretched out, "Not that I stalk you. I've just been to places and have seen you around before."

"Well, I knew Matsuda before I got out here, so he introduced me to people, and that's how I met your group."

"And Misa."

L cringed. Before this, the name hadn't come up, and he felt somewhat embarrassed now because it was proof Raito knew everything. While most people would think the truth coming out was a weight off their shoulders, L was very good at living with the lie. He could have gone the rest of his life knowing that no one knew. So he answered with a simple, "Yes."

"Hm."

"I hope this won't be strange." L glanced over to the man who recently pulled on a hat from his coat pocket.

"No. I'm a professional when it comes to dealing with Misa. Since I'm sure she doesn't know about what happened between us. Besides, if I was awkward with anyone, it'd be you, but we worked everything out," Raito kicked his feet up on L's dashboard, "Or awkward with you and Misa. Considering you fucked the man she used to be in love with and couldn't have."

"You know, I actually thin—"

"Ah," Raito groaned, "I was distracted. We were supposed to turn back there."

"Sometimes I wonder about you, Raito-kun." 

* * *

Sayu checked her watch as they waited in the lobby for the last two men to show up, "This is so typical." In the back of her mind she was also worried.

"Hey, they're walking in right now," Mello nodded to the entrance, "They are total losers…"

"Huh?" Sayu turned her head and rolled her eyes as they walked towards them, arguing loudly about some philosophical debate no one else cared about.

Raito and L stopped immediately when they reached the group and apologized for being late.

"Yeah." Sayu rolled her eyes, "I'm glad you two forgot what time it was talking about things no one gives a shit about."

Misa gave a slightly confused look, "When did you start hanging out, anyway?"

They both looked at the other, trying to think of something.

Before anyone answered, L exclaimed, "Near, I didn't know you were coming to the movie with us!"

Near shook his head, disappointed that he was just _now_ acknowledged. L was too busy being an ass with Raito to even be aware of him. It was rather insulting.

"Yeah, thought it would be fun. Especially since we haven't seen each other in days," Near shrugged his shoulders and didn't make a move to walk over to him.

A small silence fell over the group, before Raito spoke up, "The movie's started, yeah?"

L nodded and followed him up to the desk to grab a ticket.

In a hushed voice, while the cashier was giving him change, Raito asked, "So you've been using Near as an excuse lately?"

He bit his lip, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."

"You're really good at that," Raito grabbed his ticket, "Lying."

"I've never really lied to you," L never thought Near would show up, and hoped to god the others didn't read into it too, "Let's just not worry about this."

Raito nodded, and honestly said, "All right."

There wasn't much he could do besides brush it off. As soon as they joined everyone again, they walked quickly to the theatre, now around fifteen minutes late. The line of them managed to sit three together in two rows back to back.

Raito put his feet up on the seat in front of him where Mello was sitting and kicked it once. Thank god it hadn't been Near, because this was the first time he had met him, even though no one had bothered to introduce him. As soon as the movie was over, he made a mental note to do so.

He had sat next to L, but what nearly caused Raito to laugh out loud was the fact that L was sitting next to Misa too. As far as Raito knew, Misa had no idea, and he found this rather comical, especially when she leaned over L to wave at him giddily.

Not able to control himself any longer, Raito leaned into L and whispered, "I bet you feel special, sandwiched between the two of us right now. I bet I'm a better fuck," Raito flicked his tongue along the rim of L's ear, "so much better."

L froze up immediately. Raito was full of surprise after surprise – this was a stupid game to play, especially since Misa didn't know L's more recent fling was her unrequited love. It would take a lot of self-control to get through the movie if Raito kept it up.

End of part


	5. Chapter 5

Notes: Sorry this one took a little while! I just started school (again) and it's been pretty tough getting back into the schedule haha updates will be coming more frequently as soon as I get back into the swing of it! As always, thank you thank you The_Devils_Concubine for betaing and all the readers who keep coming back for new chapters!

White Lies

Part Five

All it had been was a teasing touch, but L almost lost it immediately - especially when Misa, who was on his other side, casually ran a hand under the sweatshirt L was holding on his lap. Misa's light touch moved up this thigh slowly, and then began massaging dangerously high. L wasn't sure if Raito was aware of this or not, but he wanted to join in. After all, everyone was in front of them and they were against the wall in the back. Misa and Raito must have thought it was a free for all. The only rule was not letting the other person know. Which L thought was ironic. Because if he had wished to, he could get up and then Misa would be all over Raito.

Raito leaned back in to 'whisper' something, but what he did was suck on the man's earlobe and rubbing his hand along the back of his neck, "I bet I fucked you way better than Misa."

"Did I hear my name?" The girl in question leaned in.

Raito laughed it off, taken aback by his friend's good ears, "Yeah. I told him that you'll cry at the scary parts. He needs to be warned if he's gonna be latched onto."

"You're just jealous it's not you, Raito!" Misa giggled, but knew that would be a good excuse to hold L when 'things got scary.'

A good chunk of the movie passed - during a lull in the action, Raito glanced over at L. He gritted his teeth when he saw L's fingers entwined with Misa's. That wasn't something he could complain about, especially since everyone in the world knew about it before Raito - this must not have been an uncommon sight.

Raito was jealous now and needed to get back to work: work being toying with L. Another 'whisper' motion turned into a wet, forceful kiss on the neck, buried in L's hair to slip under everyone else's radar.

L suddenly stood up and mumbled about going to the bathroom. Both the men looked at each other to dare the other person to trail him. Raito accepted the challenge and followed, tossing out the joke, "I've had to use the bathroom forever, and you know us girls go in groups," something only Misa heard.

With his hands in his pocket, Raito grinned as he pushed opened the door with his shoulder and found L washing his hands.

"So you really had to piss?" Raito was strangely disappointed.

"No, actually," L took few steps towards him, "I had to get away from you before something inappropriate happened."

Raito glanced around and, noticing that the bathroom was empty, stepped forward a little more to invade L's personal space, "What's something inappropriate?"

L shook his head and looked at the ground, "Nothing."

"You've never been shy before," Raito grabbed his shoulders, "Everything's fine between us, you don't have to act coy."

L met his eyes with a grin and placed his hands on Raito's waist, "If we were out there any longer I would have gotten on my knees at sucked you off - you turned me on so much."

"Could I have cum on your face?" Raito asked with a devilish smirk on his face, "But I guess we'd be in a movie theatre and that'd be hard to cover up."

"And a blow job is easy?" L raised an eyebrow.

"Oh trust me," Raito raised his right hand, "I have much experience with movie theatre blow-jobs."

"Mm, you'll have to show me some time."

"Nope," was Raito's simple reply, "There's nothing between us, L. I don't want to be with you because you're with Misa and other people. I wish I didn't like kissing you as much as I do…"

Raito walked forward and placed a finger under L's chin, "And I really like doing other things, but I don't think it would work if I'm being good and you're being bad."

"But I'm a really good kind of bad," L sat up on the counter and pulled Raito between his legs, "I know you don't want to be with me, and that's fine. You can still kiss me."

Raito pressed his own lips together as he looked at him.

"I don't know, you're here with your girl, right?" Raito allowed himself to be pulled forward.

"She's not my girl. She's a friend, she's _your_ friend. There's not a single person in my life at this moment besides you. One little kiss won't hurt, will it? You were teasing me relentlessly outside, did you just do it to get me hot, is that some sort of revenge?" L raised an eyebrow while lacing his fingers through Raito's hair and tugging.

"I guess there's nothing wrong about a kiss."

As soon as those words were said, the dam broke and Raito's arms tangled around L's waist, their mouths gnashing together. L wrapped his legs around Raito's hips and squeezed tight.

"It wasn't fun to tease me when we were in there," L moaned, while nipping at Raito's collar bone.

"Because Misa might find out," Raito scoffed, knowing his words would make L squirm.

"Hm," L stopped and looked thoughtfully at the younger man, "Maybe I should have pulled her with me into the bathroom instead of you, she was making me just as hot."

"Maybe you should have." Raito pushed away from L's legs, "I think I'm going to get back to the movie."

L watched him turn his back and sighed. He knew Raito was bipolar, and although sometimes it was teasing, he never knew where the line was before he was going to get angry. He was one of the first people L didn't know how to read, and it put him at a great disadvantage.

He took another deep breath and walked back to the theater to finish the movie.

* * *

At the end of the night, it turned out three cars had pooled the seven who came.

"Near said we could come over to hangout, board games and stuff," Matsuda said with a smile, very happy Near was hanging out again.

"Sound good. I have to drop Raito-kun back off at his car so he can drive himself. Then I'll be right over!"

"Don't be elusive again, L! Raito, keep him in line!" Misa put her hands on her hips before gesturing for L to come over to the side and talk to her.

"Well, Near drove, L drove and Misa drove," Matsuda was assessing the situation. "L is taking Raito to his car right now, so we really only have two. Near can take me and Mello, Misa takes Sayu."

Raito made an annoying noise to get people's attention and moved over to Near, sticking out his hand, "Hi, my name's Raito and I don't think we've met. Since no one introduced us, I'm introducing myself."

It brought a smile to Near's face and he reached out to grab Raito's hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Near."

Misa had pulled L aside and asked him, "I didn't know you and Raito were such good friends."

"We're not, really," L shrugged it off, "We talked outside the other night on his smoke break and chatted about some people we both knew – you know, talked about life. The game got a little out of control-boring, so he walked me out and we went to a Starbucks. We didn't have anything to do today, so we grabbed dinner and headed over here. Raito-kun's a good guy. I'm glad you introduced us. Our work schedules were just convenient, and what am I supposed to do with you when you have class? Remember, Near wasn't there for lunch today, I had to do something."

"I know, I wasn't asking for a biography!" Misa exclaimed, but then looked confused, "Raito smokes?"

L mentally tsk'ed himself, secrets were falling out right and left, "Rarely."

After a moment of thought, she decided to warp an arm around his shoulders, "Well, I think it's nice you're meeting and getting to know my friends!"

Misa placed a small kiss on L's forehead before she looked back to the others and called, "Let's get this party started!"

They piled into their cars and one by one made their way to Near's house. All but two. Raito and L had to take another route to get back to Raito's car.

"So what was that about?" Raito asked, and L knew right away what he was talking about.

"Nothing, she just didn't know we were friends and thought it was nice I was being accepted into the group," L turned into the parking lot, "The usual."

* * *

Misa and Sayu were the first ones to the house, and as Misa shifted her car into park, she took a deep breath and turned to her friend.

"Can I tell you a secret?" She leaned in, sounding a bit nervous.

Sayu smiled, "You know you can tell me anything, Misa! I'll protect your secret well."

She nodded a few times before making eye contact. "I think… well, I've been thinking about it for a while and I really… really think I might be in love with L."

The smile on Sayu's face quickly fell, but she caught herself and asked nicely, "What about Raito?"

"I never thought I wouldn't love him! But L seriously helped me get over him, in his own way. He's been the sweetest guy in the world. A little strange at times, but I just can't stop these feelings I have from him. I don't know what to do. But I think I'm going to ask him to stop seeing other people." Misa took a deep breath, "It was stupid for me to suggest that in the first place, but I was still in love with Raito, what was I supposed to do?"

Sayu had no idea what to say for a few seconds, but then asked slowly, "So you think he's ready?"

"Of course he is! How could he not be ready? Like I said, I was the one who didn't want to be exclusive, I'm sure he'll be excited to start our life together!" Misa cheered and took her keys out of the ignition, "And I'm going to talk to him tonight!"

* * *

Raito went for the handle, but L locked the doors. With a questioning face, he looked back, "Uh, gonna let me out?"

"I really don't want to go home right now," L admitted, looking down to the steering wheel, "Things with Near and I have been really awkward lately and I bet he doesn't really want to see me either... It's a complicated situation. I just... don't want to be there."

Raito made a face at him and asked, "Well... where do you wanna be?"

"Could I be with you?" L's eyes met his with puppy-like sparkles and Raito sneered.

"I bet Misa would want you to go home with her more," Raito stated, wiggling around in the seat.

"I'd rather go home with you right now," L leaned forward and kissed Raito with a slightly open mouth so he could see what the other man would do.

For a moment, nothing happened, and L hoped to god Raito didn't just pull away with a face of disgust. Instead, Raito's tongue brushed along L's teeth before pushing in and rubbing against his.

L wasn't satisfied when Raito said he just wanted to be a friend and he didn't want to share with others. L knew Raito liked him, and he'd get something out of him if they were alone together.

L moved out of the driver's seat and straddled the man, all without breaking their lip lock. He wrapped his arms around Raito's neck and dug his fingernails into the jacket. He wanted him so bad. The teasing during the movie and their rendezvous in the bathroom made it hard to keep his hands off Raito. What made it even harder were the hot and cold mixed signals Raito gave. L knew one thing for sure:

"Please let me come home with you tonight," L begged, "I'll be good."

Raito furrowed his brow, and laughed, "I don't trust you on that, but if you really don't want to be with everyone else, I'll help you out."

"I'll make it worth your while," L pushed Raito's seat back and moved to the floor, "Promise."

"We're not talking about blowjobs here, are we?" Raito's question was answered when L swiftly unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. L's hand was a second away from diving down Raito's pants before he snatched it up, "L, come on, if we're going to my place, let's just go to my place."

There it was again - the hot and cold. L, feeling a little rejected, moved back into the driver's seat and unlocked the doors so Raito could get back to his car and drive home. As soon as Raito pulled out of the driveway, L was right behind him, trying to think about what could happen tonight. He wasn't sure what angle he should take it from. Normally, he would do anything in his power to have sex with his generous host and repay the favor, but he wasn't sure if Raito even wanted that. L hated this feeling.

Raito was already at the door fumbling at the keys when L pulled in and walked up. Raito stopped in his tracks to look at the other man.

"You know what, L."

"What?" L asked, unceremoniously.

"You tease me so much, and you have no idea how much restraint it takes to keep away from you and your... shit!" Raito grinned and walked to hold L's face, "You do all these things to me, and I don't know how to deal."

"And?"

"I don't mind being one of your fuck buddies L, I just figured that out, because you're too much for me to resist," Raito ran his hand from L's jaw line down to his ass, "I want you again."

With a chuckle, L rocked his hips forward outside the door to the house and grinded with Raito, "You have no idea how much I was hoping Raito-kun would say those words."

Raito took the hint and flung his door open and practically threw L inside.

The moment the door was closed was the moment they let everything go. Raito slammed L into a wall, letting out some of the anger he felt knowing someone else had done what he was doing now. It made him furious. L had told him earlier that he loved rough sex - and if he wanted it rough, Raito was going to give it to him rough. He bit along the man's neck lightly at first, and moved to his lips. Their mouths gnashed together, tongues fighting and teeth nipping, the tang of blood there again. L was going to have a nice swollen and cut lip tomorrow morning, and a rainbow of bruised kiss marks all over his body.

"You didn't scream enough last night," Raito hissed into his ear while his hand violently pulled off his shirt, "You're gonna have to give me a helluva lot more."

"You must work for it," L drew in a sharp breath when his head was knocked back to the wall.

Before L could gather his bearing, Raito pulled away from the wall and shoved them both down on the cold tile floor. L got the wind knocked out of his chest and had Raito on him instantly. L's naked back ached against the flat, ceramic floor from the impact, but all he could think of was Raito unzipping his jeans.

"I'm gonna make you cum so hard," Raito teased as he lightly traced lines down L's chest and abs, "I bet none of your other 'friends' will ever hear you moan like this."

Raito liked the thoughts that were racing through his head, "Right now, you're mine and no one is ever going to make you feel this good. You'll never be this hard for anyone else, ever."

L's heartbeat quickened when listening to the hot words rolling over his lips, "Then make me yours."

With a wicked grin, Raito nodded, "You'll never forget this night as long as you live..."

End of part


	6. Chapter 6

White Lies  
Part Six

They had never made it to the bed last night. They'd only made it as far as the upstairs hallway. Completely exhausted and somewhat injured, there was no other choice than to pass out right there. L always had a habit of waking up early (sometimes not getting to sleep at all) so it was no surprise that when the sun came through the windows his eyes opened immediately. He looked around and sighed.

Both were naked, nothing but the other's body heat keeping them warm on the hard floor. This would have made more sense, had they been drinking, but the fact was that both had been completely sober, and thriving on pure passion. L remembered just how much passion as he snaked his way out of Raito's limbs, and tried to get up. The first thing that hurt were the scrapes on his knees, followed by the sore ache of his entire body.

The trail of clothes down the hall, stairs and living room led L to his pants. He pulled on his jeans and reached into the pocket, pulling out his cell phone. He was relatively sure he had gotten one or two messages from Near, demanding why he hadn't come home that night, but he wasn't ready for the 15 missed calls, and 17 text messages.

With his eyebrows knitted up in slight worry, he scrolled through.

Almost all of them were from Misa.

_10:30 - We just got back to your place!_

_10:55 - Are you on your way?_

_11:15 - Is Raito still with you?_

_11:47 - Why aren't you answering your phone? Call me!_

_12: 40 - Are you ok? Where are you?_

_1:28 - We really need to talk. Please call me._

_2:00 - Seriously, it's really important, I don't understand why you're not texting me, I'm getting really worried._

They continued, as such, until after 4 in the morning. L almost felt guilty, when he stumbled upon three more messages: one from Sayu, one from Matsuda and one from Near.

Near's was simply asking if he was going to be home, sometime before Misa's texts become more urgent. Matsuda said he wanted to make sure L wasn't dead, but Sayu's was the one that worried him a bit.

_2:45 This isn't a game, you need to text Misa. I know what's going on right now, seeing as how my brother isn't answering his phone either._

L frowned and tried to think about what he should do, pulling his shirt on as he did so. He also tried to decide where he should be going, considering that everyone would be pissed at him for not going back home and spending the night with everyone. So he did the first thing he could think of, before anyone else could yell at him again.

He sent both Misa and Near texts.

The problem was, while he was typing, he couldn't think of a good excuse. That wasn't like him.

"Trying to sneak out on me?" Raito's voice came from behind him as he leaned against the doorway at the bottom of the stairs.

"Trying to let sleeping beauty sleep," L's eyes went right back to his cell phone, preoccupied on the future replies he was supposed to be texting back.

Raito, only clad in his boxers, walked over in an attempt to peer over L's shoulder and see what was so important, "Whatcha got there?"

L offered a smile, "Raito-kun should probably check his messages too. There will no doubt be some nasty ones from his sister."

"Sayu's always nasty," He laughed and picked up his jacket to dig through the pocket.

Cell phone in hand, he went and sat down on the couch, kicking his feet on the coffee table and scrolling through messages.

"Yep." He confirmed. "My little sister is becoming less and less lady-like as the days go by."

"How are you going to explain our absences last night?" L was fishing for an idea, one that he himself did not have.

"I'm not sure," Raito had to say, and continued with, "Sayu already knows I'm hooking up with you, so I'm probably just going to confess."

He wasn't sure what to make of L's completely blank face. He had an idea, though.

"Worried Misa's going to find out?"

"I haven't decided yet."

With an eyebrow quirked, Raito repeated, "Haven't decided? How cold of you."

"Cold?" He repeated, "There's nothing cold about wanting to keep a friend from being upset. Although I imagine if Sayu knows and Misa was distressed last night, she might have already told her. I must prepare myself for a scolding as well."

"Good luck with that." Raito's voice was dry, and slightly jealous he was trying to protect Misa's feelings when he didn't give a second thought about his. "I'm sure Misa will be over dramatic and act like the world is ending."

"Hm," L put a thoughtful finger to his lips, "maybe I could make it up to her by offering a threesome with Raito-kun."

"There's something wrong with you."

"You're fun to tease. I must get going," he dug his car keys out of his jacket and gave a small wave. "Until next time."

Raito didn't say anything as he watched L exit. He just slouched over on his couch and blankly stared off. He was confused. And there wasn't much to confuse him about life. His feelings were usually black and white, and he could sort things out in his head rather quickly. This was a surprising exception. He thought the jealously might subside after the realization Misa was the one being played and in the dark. But he felt it was quite the opposite. Actually knowing L was with someone else bothered him. It was like an annoying nagging in the back of his brain that constantly pissed him off. He hadn't known the man for long, which was even more confusing because it was affecting him so greatly. He was intrigued, enraged and somewhat addicted.

He didn't know it was possible to feel that way.

He exhaled loudly and fell over on his side. He needed a nap: it was much too early. 

* * *

Misa was tossing and turning all night, Sayu could barely sleep because of the girl's groans and overdramatic body flings. She knew that Misa was upset, worried, and more than anything love-sick. Finally, the two fell into a normal sleep around 7 in the morning. However; a door swinging open around 8 woke them up with a startle.

The blonde darted up from the bed and huffed loudly at the man standing there. "Where have you been?"

L certainly hadn't expected the two ladies to be tucked under the covers in his bed, and now he had to face his problem quicker than he thought. The problem being Misa.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"I'll go downstairs," Sayu volunteered, knowing she could easily kick Matsuda off the couch, "You two need to talk."

L wished Sayu hadn't immediately stood up and left: her presence was his only hope to have a normal conversation with the girl.

Sayu slammed the door shut, and without hesitating, Misa charged at L. A loud slap echoed through the room, but then her arms wrapped around the neck of the man she assaulted. L inwardly cursed, as if he hadn't gotten beaten up good enough the night before, Misa was continuing the torture.

"L!" Misa almost whined, "I was so scared you were hurt, or in a ditch or brutally murdered somewhere! Where were you?"

L was lucky she couldn't see his face, but the words came out so easily when he wasn't making eye contact. "I'm sure you knew, Near and I have been having problems and I didn't feel comfortable coming home last night. I can usually retire to my bedroom early and avoid confrontation, but when everyone was over and socializing, it would have been rude to go to my room early and Near would have made a scene. I didn't want to involve anyone in that." L wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Near isn't the type to make a scene, and you know that! So where were you? Were you with Raito?"

He had to keep himself from gulping. She clearly knew the answer, and it was just a matter of time until the accusations flew, and she found out about their nightly games. "Yes, I was."

"You should have told me and we could have gone home together!"

L hesitated. Was it possible Sayu didn't say anything? That she didn't know? He decided to go with it.

"I was already there, and I knew you would have more fun with everyone else. I didn't want to drag you into it."

"I spent the entire night texting you and calling you! We would have been so much better just going back to my place! What were you thinking?"

"Obviously I wasn't thinking enough," was something he could easily admit.

Misa stepped away and took both of his hands in hers. "There's something very serious we need to talk about."

A small hit of dread bubbled in L's stomach, "Oh? About what?"

It took her a second to look up, and when she did she looked nervous, their eyes met in an awkward way.

"I… I…" She stumbled through her words.

"You can just say it. We always speak comfortably. No need to hesitate." L squeezed her hands.

"I'm in love with you and I don't want to see anyone else but you and I don't want you to talk or be involved with anyone but me," she blurted out and took a deep breath.

L was at a loss for words. That certainly wasn't what he was expecting.

For some reason, only one thing came to mind:

"What about Raito-kun?"

She shook her head violently, "He's not worth it. He was never worth it, and you made me realize that. He's heartless, and could never care about anyone but himself. He just strings people along and uses them. You're the one who made me trust men again. I know you'd never hurt me."

There was a combination of him wanting to gag, and laugh like a maniac at the irony. Instead, he took Misa into his arms and whispered, "You're very important to me. And I'm extremely sorry Raito-kun hurt you so deeply."

"Does that mean you love me too?" Misa big eyes looked up at him, full of hope and unconditional devotion.

She squeezed him hard, waiting for an answer and the claw marks on his back, as well as the bite marks on his hips hurt from the touch. As if to emphasize just how heartlessly he was leading her on.

"I think you're still recovering."

"No!" She repeated. "I'm serious, and I don't know what to do to make you realize that! Do you not want to be with me? I'm so confused."

"What I need… is a nap. It's still quite early, Misa," L bit on his thumb, eyes moving between his bed and the girl.

She hung her head and nodded, "I understand."

"You may stay here a while, if you wish," he offered and took a few steps towards the bed.

"Yes! I know you're not thinking right, so let's take a nap and talk about it again when we wake up!" Her voice was full of optimism.

L laid down and quickly tucked the two of them under the covers as soon as she hopped in.

Now this was quite the unforeseen predicament. 

* * *

It wasn't until a while later that Raito woke up. He treasured the moments on the comfortable couch, rather than the hard wood floor he has spent the majority of the night on. He could feel his swollen lip and every bruise on his body. His scalp was equally sore from some random hair pulling too. He looked at the clock and it was just after noon. He hadn't slept in this long in forever. Deciding not to make the day a complete waste, he stepped out of bed, to his room to change and decided to head out for a jog. Maybe that would clear his head.

He debated calling up Mello to see if he would join him, or even Sayu, but constantly being around people the last few days made him realize it only made sense for him to go alone. His iPod would keep him company. He wanted to run and not worry about a thing but the sweat running down his forehead and the racing of his heart.

And that's exactly what he did. 

* * *

Sayu leaned back in her chair in her room after getting a call from Matsuda. She normally liked to pace around when she was on the phone, but since both her parents were home, she had to sneak away to get a little more privacy. The two were the only ones who knew just how complicated the little triangle between her brother, her friend, and their shady lover was.

She was the only one who had heard Misa's confession about L the previous night and it worried her more than anything. Misa's heart would break if she found out Raito was the person L was carrying on a 'casual' relationship with. And the fact that he blatantly chose Raito over Misa last night was not a good sign.

They feared the worst, but couldn't figure out a thing to do about it. Especially since Misa was the one most likely to get hurt.

Matsuda was very eager to step up and try to solve it for them, but Sayu talked him down, explaining just how pointless it would be.

Just as pointless as their conversation had been, leaving nothing more than frustration and helplessness. 

* * *

Fresh out of the shower, after taking a much longer jog than he thought, Raito was greeted by a white flashing on his cell, indicating he had a new notification. He toweled off his hair and entered in his password. The words on the screen made his breath catch in his throat. Of course, the only one who could get such a reaction was L.

_So it appears I have a girlfriend now._

So many things popped into his head, and he typed back the only thing he could think of.

_WTF._

_Yes, I know. I wasn't expecting it either._

_So I guess this means have a nice life?_

_Oh no._

_What does that mean?_

_It just means we need to be more careful : )_

Raito's heart felt a little constricted as he just stood and stared at the message. He was pissed. And he wasn't sure if the reason was L decided to enter a relationship, or the fact that L used an emoticon.

"Motherfucker." 

End of part


	7. Chapter 7

White Lies  
Part 7

Raito didn't know whether he expected it or not. After Misa and L became "official" he wasn't sure how to cope with it. Sure, L had suggested them keeping their relationship a tight secret, but Raito didn't know how to feel about it. He had been out with the group once since then, and the obvious PDA the couple had shown was enough to make him sick. L had given him a few looks, and even tried to talk to him but Raito avoided it. Then clear as day, L began to show his true colors, and didn't fight against him, because he knew no matter what he was going home with someone that night. Raito even heard a rumor from Sayu that L had been sneaking around behind Misa's back again. She probably dropped that information to Raito to see if it was with him. However, judging by the silence and gritted teeth she knew that wasn't the case.

Weeks went by, by his choice, and he thought about the other more than he had wanted to. Instead, he asked to work full time and began to look back into colleges to finish his degree. Something positive, or anything for that matter, to channel his energy into. To keep his mind off L.

He had gotten called out by Mello at work a few days, and work was supposed to be one of the things that kept him occupied. His friend and co-worker had asked why he hadn't been out with them lately, even stressing the point Misa wouldn't bother him anymore. That fact just pissed him off more. He would have gladly put up with Misa's harassment again if it meant he could go out without dealing with the 'lovely new couple.' Something he never thought he would dream of.

He was folding clothes in the front of the store when he saw someone familiar walk in. Well, not exactly _walk._ More like sway in, his shoulders hunched and his hands in his pockets. Before Raito could dodge his way behind a clothing rack, and zig-zag towards the back of the store, the man called out, "Raito-kun!" obnoxiously, and unavoidably loud.

Raito continued to fold the button-ups and granted him a single glace. "Do you need help finding something?"

"Hmm. I didn't know you worked here," he said and took a few steps closer until he was mere feet from him.

"I hardly believe that," Raito faked a smile and repeated, "but if so, do you need help finding something?"

"Caught me," he raised his hands in front of him, "Why haven't I seen Raito-kun lately?"

"I've been busy. Working, planning to go back to school when the next semester starts so I'm taking out loans and figuring all that stuff out."

"I can see why Raito-kun's stressed."

Raito raised an eyebrow, "Do I look like I'm stressed?"

"No, but I can smell the cigarette smoke from here," L cocked his head to the side, "I do wish we could see each other again."

"Like I said, I've been busy."

"I hope this doesn't have to do with Misa."

Raito wanted to laugh. "Believe it or not, I'd feel pretty guilty sneaking around a friend to hook up with her boyfriend. Although I doubt you'd understand. Especially since you're not having any problems with it right now."

"My, my. Word does travel fast. I suppose I have Sayu's professional snooping skills to blame." L thoughtfully added, "At least she's considerate enough to keep the news from Misa."

With a loud scoff, Raito turned his back, but not before saying, "You're a piece of work."

"As is Raito-kun with his stubbornness." L followed him to the back of the store, saying as they walked, "That's not a sufficient excuse, especially since you didn't mind before. What's different about now? I highly doubt a bit of guilt would keep you away from me."

"You're pretty damn full of yourself." Raito turned around, and almost crashed into L with the abrupt stop.

"No, I'm just confident." He smiled. "Don't tell me you don't think about me. I would have seen you sooner if you weren't bothered by the current circumstances."

"Did you just come to piss me off? Or is this your roundabout way to say how much you miss me and you're begging for me to fuck you again?"

"Wow. Right to the point." There was a moment of silence before L said, "I'd like to catch up. Would you consider having company tonight?"

"We did just catch up." Raito turned his back, "And I'd rather not."

L caught his shoulder and spun him around, right before he was able to disappear into the back room. "I'm being very serious. I hope Raito-kun considers. I'm free after 8 tonight, and I'd like you to come over."

"Things better with Near?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Near won't be there."

"Oh." Raito rolled his eyes, "We obviously both know what this is about and if there's one thing I'm not it's a goddamn booty-call. Seriously? You've got balls."

There was a deep frown on L's face. "So you don't believe me that I'd just like your friendship? I believe we previously talked about this. I'm offended."

Another painfully long silence dragged out between them until Raito walked a few steps and started folding more shirts on another display.

"This is stupid," he mumbled under his breath and then finished, "Fine."

A smile lit up on L's face and he nodded a few times, "Good! I'll see you later tonight."

Raito continued to fold shirts and didn't look up to see the other man leave, but took in a deep breath.

What did he get himself into? 

* * *

Raito kept glancing at the clock, as his shift went on. Mello came in on a later shift and watched his friend intently. After four cigarette breaks in an hour, Mello finally spoke up:

"What's your deal today?"

Without thinking, Raito snapped, "I don't have a deal."

Mello rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Really? Because you're smoking like a chimney and looking at the wall clock like it's going to explode for fun?"

"Yeah, so much fun," Raito tried to smile to lighten the mood. "Just got things on my mind."

"Wanna talk? I hear discussing your emotions makes you feel better." Mello's smartass tone kicked in.

"You're my therapist?"

"Gotta be something," he snickered. "Since we haven't been anything outside work lately. I thought we were BFFs. Or at least BFFAW."

"Best Friends For Angry Witches?" Raito smirked.

"Best Friends For A While. But Angry Witches has a nice ring to it… we can stick with that one."

"Or maybe even Ageing Whales. I think that describes us pretty well too."

The two broke out laughing loudly and made a few customers give them bizarre looks. That made them cackle even louder.

"There's the Raito I've been missing! So what are you doing tonight? I need some time with my Ageing Whale counterpart." Mello slapped him on the back.

"Ehh sorry I suck. I kind of just made plans," Raito looked apologetic, "But I'm serious. Next time you're going out, I'll come. I think I need to take some time off from all the… shit I've been doing lately."

With a loud sigh, Mello nodded, "OK deal. But I'm holding you to it, or else you're getting your ass kicked."

"It's a promise, Aching Wombat."

"OK… that joke's officially dead."

"I agree. My bad, dude." 

* * *

Raito wasn't even sure why he was there. He stood at the door steps of L's house for a good ten minutes before he knocked. He didn't know what to expect. He didn't know what he could have gotten out of this meeting other than more frustration and bad dreams. But his fist finally met the brown door and tapped loudly three times.

Not long after, the door swung open and L appeared munching with a box of Whoppers in hand.

He said with a full mouth, "Come in!"

Raito looked at him with shifty eyes but stepped in once invited, "You know I've never been here."

"Mm," L swallowed, "Not a lot of people have. I just ordered delivery! I hope Raito-kun is hungry!"

As if on command, his stomach growled. "Oh I am. For some reason I forgot to eat today."

"Well I had a strange craving for tacos… so I just ordered a lot of random Mexican dishes because I was unsure of what you'd want."

And L was right. When the food arrived, it arrived in four bags filled to the top with Styrofoam take-out boxes. It was enough to serve a large family awaiting Thanksgiving. Or Cinco de Mayo. Or some type of Mexican holiday. Raito couldn't help but laugh as L spread it out on the dining room table, not an inch of table showing.

"Help yourself!"

"I'm glad I didn't eat today. I've never seen so much food in my life!"

"I'm a fan of leftovers, actually. So I was on the safe side."

They grabbed plates full and sat down on the couch. After they turned on a movie, Raito had to admit that he was falling back into the comfortable atmosphere that he and L used to share. It might have also been due to the fact that the fiesta in his stomach was making him content too. He hadn't been eating and taking care of his body lately, being so involved with work, it was nice to just take a breather.

L gathered up the plates during a small lull in the movie and hurried back to the kitchen to put them in the sink (and to grab his own bowl of ice cream). Raito looked over his shoulder and then fidgeted around on the couch to get comfortable. He partially laid down on his side, and draped his arm over the pillow next to the arm rest. L sat back down and immediately started to eat again. It was so curious to Raito how he stayed so slim. L turned his head, "would you like some?"

Before Raito could shake his head and decline the offer, L took advantage of the 'no' shape of Raito's mouth and shoveled a spoonful of strawberry ice cream in.

Raito swallowed, while his eyes were locked with L's mischievous grin.

"Delicious, right?"

Raito didn't bother to argue, instead he almost laughed. L took advantage of his open mouth again with another scoop of ice cream, but this time he missed and it ended up dripping from Raito's chin to his chest.

"Oops." L leaned in and lapped up the light pink sweetness.

Raito didn't know what to do. He felt L's hot breath on his neck, and his tongue lapping so close to his mouth… His breath caught in his throat until L pulled away, stating, "All done!" and then went back to the half-full bowl.

_Wait…_ Ratio's mind thought. _Is this a game?_He was suddenly fidgety and stiff and refused to look at L. He was afraid of what he was doing, or plotting. Then he realized it probably wasn't a good idea to come over in the first place. He glued his eyes to the TV and attempted to pretend he was just at home watching this alone.

"Do I make Raito-kun uncomfortable? That is not my intention."

All his hard work was meaningless. He took a deep inhale and swung his head to give L a very annoyed look, "Seriously? Because I'm pretty sure everything you do is to make me uncomfortable. You're fucking with me on purpose and it's annoying."

"Annoying?" L feigned shock, "You didn't think so before."

"I'm leaving," Raito immediately got to his feet and started walking to the front door.

L's hand flew out and grabbed the other's wrist, "Please."

"Please what? What the hell is your problem?" He snapped and tried to pull away from the clamp on his wrist.

However, the jerk was countered with another yank and he ended up on the man he was trying to run away from's lap.

"Fuck!"

"I thought Raito-kun was very much against that," L grabbed a hold of his other wrist also to restrain him. "I wanted to have a relaxing night with someone I missed and now you're being a drama queen."

"I'm not a drama queen!" Raito squirmed for freedom, but L had the upper hand.

"All right. If this is very serious, you may leave. But I think you're getting upset over nothing and it's rather sad." L released the man's wrists, and he tumbled to the floor.

Raito didn't move for a second, staring the other down. L's eyes were a cross between offended and indifferent. If that were possible. L mixed many contradicting emotions, as well as caused them. Then, unexpectedly, Raito stood up, and resumed his position on the couch next to L.

"You calmed down fast," the dark haired man commented, but then shut his mouth before Raito changed his mind.

The small scuffle looked like a small glitch as the night went on. Somehow unleashing a little bit of his anger had calmed Raito down. His head even ended up being cradled on L's lap towards the end of the night. Two movies later, he glanced at the clock to see it was well after 2. Unsure if he was going to get up and head home or pretend to be asleep on L's leg had yet to be decided. He was content and didn't want to move.

"Raito-kun?"

Too late. L knew he was awake.

He grumbled as a response, and rolled on his back to look up.

A small smirk was above him, and L's hand reached down and ran his fingers along his cheek. "Is Raito-kun spending the night?"

He exhaled deep and closed his eyes, "I should get goi-"

Before his sentence could finish, soft lips were on his, and single tender kiss had been placed. He didn't open his eyes after. He knew that if he opened his eyes he would have to say something. He would have to say, 'stop, this isn't ok,' or 'fuck it.' He wasn't ready to commit to either. So his eyes stayed shut.

As he'd hoped, after a moment of hesitation, the lips came back and L shifted around to get better access to Raito's mouth. Raito returned the few innocent kiss, and to his surprise they stayed… innocent. Eventually their tongues collided, but it wasn't in the wild 'let's fuck' way, but a passionate 'I just want to kiss you,' way. Something Raito had never expected from L. But then everything changed when he said, "Want to go to my room?"

Then the obvious came to surface.

"I don't know if—"

"There's nothing to worry about. I'm not going to take advantage of you, if that's what you're wondering."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Really, L? Because in the time I've know you you're very good at tak-"

"I said there's no need to worry," he got to his feet and hauled Raito to his, "I just want to spend more-"

"No more cutting me off!" Raito interjected and then looked visibly calmer. "Ok. Then let's just go to sleep."

L beamed and nodded, "I knew you'd come around."

"Hah. If that's what you call it."

The second the two sank into the mattress, L looped his arms around Raito and laid his head on his chest. "Good night, Raito-kun," and placed one more kiss on his lips.

The big surprise is he kept his word and everything after was nothing more than wrapping arms, and, before they both fell asleep, intertwined fingers. For the first time in a long time, Raito felt content.

End of part


	8. Chapter 8

Note: Many many thanks go out to ElizabellaLight for beta'ing, and being all around amazing :) Enjoy!

White Lies  
Part Eight

_You're coming over tonight to watch Walking Dead, right?_

_Of course. Would you like me to stop at the grocery store? I can't come over another night if there's no milk at your house. I need it with my cookies._

_Hah. I'll stop at the store for you, princess. I'll even grab another box of those cookies you like._

_Does Raito-kun need something? All this kindness can't be for nothing._

_No. Just excited to see you. Work's been tough today._

_In that case, I'll be ready to give you a massage upon my arrival. As long as you really did make a trip to the store._

_Deal._

Raito flipped his phone shut and walked back into the store after a "smoke break" that had only amounted to texting L. It had been about a month since he spent an innocent night with his friend's "boyfriend" but strangely enough… that had been what it remained. That's precisely why he _didn't_ feel guilty. When they were together, Misa didn't exist and prying eyes of the outside world didn't exist. He didn't think L had it in him. Besides a few small stolen kisses and late night cuddling, the scandalous relationship it could have been fell a little short. Raito was strangely happy.

If he didn't know any better, he would have thought L and himself were dating.

A small laugh escaped his lips and he walked to the cash register, seeing a new employee was becoming flustered with the long line that had accumulated when he was gone. Clearly Mello didn't do a good job training her. She was one of those girls who only got the job because she wore low-cut shirts and had a knack for getting male customers to buy things they never really needed.

Oh well. Better for business.

* * *

The day was surprisingly hot, and the cool water around Misa and L's feet was a welcome relief. Misa kicked happily while sitting on the edge of the dock on a little last-minute 'date' L had invited her on. She was entertaining the idea of jumping in and pulling her boyfriend with her. Instead she scooped up his hand and wrapped it around her shoulders. Things couldn't be going better, and she smiled up to the sun, content.

"Are you going to miss me the next two weeks when I'm gone?" She playfully poked him in the side.

"Of course I am. But it's very exciting that you're doing such a big promotion in the US. My girlfriend is an excellent spokes model, I'm very lucky." L returned the poke.

"Aww, you're making me blush! I'm going to miss you. We need to skype every night!"

"It's a deal. Would Misa like to walk back and get some dessert?"

"Yay! I'd love some!" She leaned in and placed a quick peck on his cheek. "And I love you too!"

L hopped to his feet and pulled the blonde up with him, "And I, you."

* * *

L watched the clock as he sat in his room and worked on his computer. It wouldn't be long until he visited Ratio for their new weekly Sunday bonding. He briefly wondered if it would be bad to spend the night, considering he had to wake up early to take Misa to the airport. He also considered if Misa was expecting him to stay with her. Although they both agreed that the chaos of her packing might be more of a priority than spending time together. Which was part of the reason he decided to take her out today, to appease her in the case he didn't return.

He chewed on a stray pen that had been along the side of his laptop. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing with these two. He hadn't thought that far ahead. But there was a familiar feeling nagging at him. It was troublesome.

"L!" Near's voice echoed from downstairs.

He stood up and left his room in no hurry. Things had been slowly getting better, now that he looked to the world like more of an upstanding citizen, keeping everything shady in his life under tight wraps. In an attempt to do that, he was working extra hard to make things better with Near. It had been working, for the most part.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk about what Watari called about the other day. I know you don't want to, but it's very important."

There was another nagging. He knew it was bound to happen, but this meant he needed to take care of many, many loose ends. He knew where to start, but almost didn't want to.

"All right. Can it wait until tomorrow? I have to leave in a few minutes and then say my goodbyes to Misa in the morning."

Near nodded. "I understand. But it has to be tomorrow. And you know it."

"Yes." L decided to abandon his work upstairs and just finished walking down the stairs, and grabbed his keys. "I'll be home around noon."

"Ok. Have a good night."

"You too."

* * *

Raito was caught a little off guard when there was a knock at his door. L usually arrived early, but he had been in a daze doing dishes before he realized what time it was. He didn't answer it right away, and instead finished unloading the dish washer. Then the knocks coming from the door sounded impatient and annoyed. Raito smirked as he went to let his guest in, always happy to irritate.

"Hello!" L immediately walked in and asked, "Cookies?" with a large smirk.

"Couldn't wait, could you."

"No. I rushed here to take advantage of Raito-kun's kindness," he continued his walk into the kitchen and saw not one box, but three with different assortments.

L turned around nearly drooling to give his host a wide smile, before diving in and shoving two in his mouth.

Chewing loudly, he managed to get out, "Raito-kun is winning my heart!"

"Hah," Raito went back to tidying up the kitchen, "You're easy."

Feigning a pout, L responded, "That's cruel. Very cruel."

Raito ruffled the sugar-addict's hair, "Somehow I think you'll forgive me."

"I can always find it in my heart. I'm a saint."

"I wouldn't say that…" he trailed off. "We can catch the end of American Beauty before the show. That's what I've had on while cleaning up."

"You don't need to clean up to impress me." L jammed another cookie in his mouth.

"Who says I'm trying to impress you? Sayu's coming over for a little bit tomorrow and she always yells at me when my house isn't clean," Raito scoffed and finished putting the new load of dirty dishes in the washer.

"And yet your sister doesn't clean up herself. She's a strange one," L slowly found his way into the living room, "I see many similarities between her and her brother."

"Hah. Nice." Raito followed him and took a seat, leaning back on the arm rest, his legs taking up the majority of the couch.

L cocked his head to the side for a second, and then sat down, wriggling his way between Raito's legs and making himself at home on the other's stomach.

Raito raised an eyebrow, "Comfy?"

"You asked for it," L munched on the last cookie that was in his hand.

All Raito could do was laugh and turn the volume on the TV up.

In a little under a half hour, their show came on and by that point, their hands were knitted together. If it had been possible, they were snuggled a bit closer.

"This isn't accurate." L frowned as he watched the screen.

"About the zombies eating animals? I was thinking the exact same thing."

"The entire premise of Survival of the Dead was trying to get zombie to feed on flesh that wasn't human. I dislike that they pushed the evolution of zombies so much in such a short series," L said, oddly serious.

"Artistic freedom, I suppose."

"Artistic freedom or not, there's very specific rules about zombies you have to follow, or it's not a legitimate piece."

Raito suddenly busted out into laughter, "Are we really talking about this dead seriously?"

L joined his small fit of giggles, "This IS very serious, Raito-kun!"

"We sound so smart right now…"

"Too smart for our own good. That's why I enjoy you so much. You'd know what to do in the event of a zombie apocalypse. That's a very important quality I look for in a partner."

"Misa would be one of the first infected." Raito's voice was surprising light-hearted, bringing up the woman's name.

"She'd be a good distraction for when we're running away together. I'd say that's a good advantage to have."

"Hah. Cannon fodder for the dead. We should be sure to tell her that. I'm sure she'd gladly take a bite for you, boyfriend."

"Then Raito-kun could be my boyfriend!" L tipped his head back and stuck his tongue out.

"Wow. I feel better. Only in the event of a zombie apocalypse would you consider dating me," Raito feigned a sigh, "Now put that back in your mouth before I bite it off."

"I thought we were dating."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Forever a tease." Raito flicked him in the nose with his middle finger.

"You know I don't tease. You're just a prude."

"Fuck you, let's watch this. And don't pout. Because I know you're a second away from pushing out that bottom lip."

"You know me much, much too well."

* * *

It took more than four hours and ten suitcases later, Misa Amane collapsed onto her bed. She looked at the clock and it was approaching midnight. Even if her excitement was bubbling, a little sadness was aching somewhere inside of her. She wasn't sure why, but she was a little worried to be away from Japan for so long. Not that she didn't trust her boyfriend, she just didn't trust the impulses she knew he had, and couldn't fight the feeling that without her physically there he might be a little more than tempted…

Her eyes traced the ceiling for a bit before she finally gave in and called Sayu.

"Hey girl! What's up?" The younger girl's voice cheerfully said from the other line.

"Just finished packing for the next few weeks! How are you?" She went through all the motions of a casual introduction.

"I'm good, just about to go to bed. Are you excited?"

"Oh my gosh! I forgot how late it was, I'm sorry! I'm definitely excited!"

"But?" Sayu almost knew what was coming next.

"I have a favor to ask…" Misa played with a lock of her hair nervously.

"And that is?"

"I don't want to sound like a creepy, stalker girlfriend—"

"You want me to watch L?"

With a heavy sigh, Misa simply replied, "Yeah…"

"Don't you think that isn't really necessary? I mean, trust is pretty important to any relationship," Sayu secretly hoped Misa would agree, because she didn't want to be the person to break any bad news that was quite possible.

"You're right…"

Sayu breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I'd feel better just in case. I don't want to be worried about it when I'm overseas! You understand right?"

Spoke too soon.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to have to worry about that either. I'll try to keep an eye on him."

"You're the best friend ever! Thank you so much!" Misa pepped right up, now that Sayu was helping there was nothing for her to worry about, "Seriously. You're amazing."

"Hah, I know I know. Well, I have to get to bed, so have a safe flight and a great time! I'll miss you!"

"Aww thank you! I'll bring back a souvenir for you! Have a good night!"

Misa hung up and looked back over at the clock. She needed to get to bed as soon as she could.

Tomorrow was a big day.

* * *

Neither of them were sleepy. It was past the point of Misa calling and begging him to come over, and he'd already told Near he wouldn't be home until noon the next day. It was time to turn on the puppy eyes and see if he could manage to spend the night alongside the man he was currently sitting on the porch with while smoking a cigarette. Raito didn't like the house to smell like smoke, so whenever he got a craving he excused himself to go outside. They were sitting on the steps, looking up at the not-quite-full moon. It was a chilly night, but neither of them minded.

"Kind of reminds you of when we met, huh?" Raito took a long drag of smoke.

"Except Raito-kun isn't intoxicated."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

"Did you also forget that you made the first move that night?"

On the verge of blushing, he nodded and then stated, "I didn't know you were trouble back then."

"Lots and lots of trouble." L leaned his head on Raito's shoulder, "But you still enjoy my company. That must count for something."

"A 'something' I'm not sure about." He finished the cigarette but didn't make any move to stand.

L brought his fingertips to Raito's chin and shifted his head until they were mere inches away. Without another word, but a slight hesitation, L pressed his lips onto the other's. Raito's breath caught in his throat, but returned the kiss gradually.

But then something snapped, and Raito abruptly got up stammering, "I've got to go to the bathroom."

L wasn't sure if he was frustrated or confused. He should have come to expect this from Raito by now.

A cold splash of water did nothing to sooth the burning on his face. So he tried again. The liquid ran down his cheeks as he stared at himself in the mirror. He needed to get it together.

When did he start to care so much?

Why couldn't he just let things happen?

The hard truth of the matter was that he was just as love-sick as Misa.

He was in fucking love with a jackass who wasn't.

Why was he torturing himself like this? Why was he continually putting himself through the pain of seeing, enjoying, and holding the one thing he knew he couldn't have?

He scoffed loudly, turned the water off, and swung open the door to find L standing wordlessly just outside.

"I think you—"

"I'm sorry." L said but didn't bother to keep his distance; he walked up and grabbed the man by the hand. "And I know now you're going to tell me to leave and I wish you didn't feel that way. I can't understand what makes you uncomfortable and what doesn't. Sometimes you let me kiss you and other times you throw a fit. It is a guessing game and I never seem to win."

"So leave."

"You're not helping me out, Raito-kun." L let Raito jerk out of his grip.

"You wouldn't get it." Raito was tempted to walk back into the bathroom and slam the door in L's face.

"I can at least try, right?"

Raito tried to brush past L and just head up to his room. The last thing he wanted to do was hide in a bathroom all night, or be fighting with this man. His efforts were cut short when the black-haired man slammed him into the wall.

"Raito-ku—"

"I like you ok? I wish I didn't, but I legitimately like you and I want to be with you. So now you can just fuck off, because you know and I know that I want something that can never happen. There, happy?"

Raito inhaled sharply as L's arms went lax.

"Now if you'd move out of the way I want to go to bed."

As Raito tried violently to push past him, L made a fluid move to pull Raito back and scoop him up in his arms. He wrapped one hand around his waist and another in his hair and pulled their bodies together.

"Not without me," L whispered and claimed the other man's lips again.

He couldn't figure out if he wanted to fight it or not. He didn't know what this meant. But before he could even ask, he was answered with:

"I like Raito-kun much more than I had intended to..."

Out of everything that could have been said, that was the one Raito had least been expecting. So he could only think to fight back.

"Don't mock me."

L shook his head, but kept a strange grin glued on his face, "No, I think you're the one mocking me. I'm saying it's mutual. I'm saying that when we're apart I can't stop thinking of you, I enjoy your company and I rather like the idea of you being mine."

"It doesn't work that way. You can't just have whoever you want, when you want them," Raito's stomach was filled with butterflies.

"Then I'll break up with Misa to prove it to you."

He was speechless. He thought his confession would make L run for the hills, but instead he actually… felt the same way?

"I take it from your silence that sounds like a good idea to you?"

Raito nodded.

"We may have to wait though."

Raito groaned, of course it was too good to be true, "And I should have been expecting this."

"No no," L tried to explain, "I wouldn't want her devastated on her way to the US. We'll be 'separated' for the time being and 'divorced' as soon as she returns home!"

"Your logic is fucked up. But I guess I can understand."

"Of course you understand!" L tapped him on top of the head, "We have very similar brains!"

"Then you'll also understand," Raito grabbed the hand from over him and gave his hand a squeeze, "That if you pull the same shit on me as you have been doing Misa, I'll kill you."

With a crooked grin the dark haired man nodded, "Well noted."

End of part


	9. Chapter 9

Note: Sorry in advanced this chapter is a little shorter… I'll get the next chapter out very soon to make up for it :) Sankyuuu, as always, to my beta ElizabellaLight 3

White Lies  
Part 9

L chewed on his thumb as he waited in his car outside Misa Amane's home early that morning. As always, she was running late (he didn't want to admit that he was a little late himself) and the first moment L saw her, she was struggling to haul multiple giant suitcases out the front door. He jumped out of his car to give the small girl a hand and absently noted it would cost quite a lot to check all the bags.

"Good morning!" She cheered, always chipper at the break of dawn.

That was one of the things they had in common: being able to wake up and function with super-human ease.

"Good morning to you!" He scooped up two bags and struggled getting them to the car.

As agile and physically fit he was, that didn't mean he could handle the amount of bags Misa had packed.

She followed behind him, two more bags and a purse swung over her shoulder, exclaiming, "Maybe I got a little carried away!"

"Very like you," he smiled and swung the last few bags into the car, "Ready to break multiple speeding laws on the way there?"

"I love danger!" She hopped in the car.

L nodded and pressed on the gas instantaneously. Misa immediately put on the radio and began to hum along.

It was a good thing, because L's mind was other places than in the car alongside his soon-to-be ex girlfriend whom he was actually tempted to end things with before she left the country. It was a selfish idea, wanting to begin a new life with the knowledge he was going to end it inevitably anyway. Why not just get it over with? Oh yes, because Misa, in many ways, was a loose cannon, and there was no idea how she would react before she got on that plane. She might even try to hijack it and turn around to run him over.

Then the question begged, if he didn't end it, would he be unable to kiss her goodbye? Could he tell her, "I love you, have a good flight" ? Could he lie and say he was going to miss her every day she was away and was counting down the hours for her to return? The lying came easily, he knew he could pull that off, but the fact that he was willing to be in a legitimately monogamous relationship was the confusing thing. He didn't know where to draw lines. He didn't know how to draw lines.

He exhaled loudly and gripped the wheel tighter.

"I'm worried about how long the flight is! There's a lot of time for things to go wrong!" Misa began the next conversation.

_Well, that would be one way to solve the problem,_ L thought morbidly.

"Don't worry, you're more likely to be kicked to death by a donkey than get involved in a plane crash," L said dryly.

"Oh my gosh! There are donkeys all over in the US! What if I die from a donkey?" Her eyes got wide, and he had no idea if she was being serious or a smart ass. It could very well be either.

"I guess you'll just have to be very careful. I heard in places they're loose and wander into large cities and it's quite a chore for the police to take care of them."

"You're a jerk."

He smiled and announced, "We're here!"

They pulled up alongside of the curve and both jumped out to get her on her way. After the bags were all on the curb, and she managed to get a man who worked for the airline to muscle all of them in the door. They were left with the awkward moment L had been dreading. Misa grabbed him and placed a playful kiss on his neck.

"Tell me how much you'll miss me," she grinned mischievously and played with the ebony hair at his nape.

"Very, very much."

"As soon as I get there, I'll let you know! Let's skype when I do?"

"Of course we will."

Misa leaned in, and L's mind just said fuck it and gave her a deep, lingering kiss. After all, this was goodbye. Even if she wasn't aware of it. With that in mind, he figured Raito wouldn't care too much.

"I love you!" She said, giving him a final bone-crushing hug.

"I love you too, be safe!" One final little lie wouldn't hurt. When he thought about it, the 'love' he had for her had always been shallow, at best.

He watched her disappear into the airport and into the rushing sea of people. He didn't have complete closure yet, but he was sure getting close. His phone vibrated, and he wondered what Misa wanted now.

When he checked the screen, it was actually a text from Near:

_Went out of town with Watari for a week, let's talk when I get back._

L wondered what was so urgent, but knew never to ask. When things had to do with Watari, he only was allowed to know half of the time. He figured he could take a quick nap, do a little work around the house, and hopefully see his new "boyfriend."

"Boyfriend…" he said to himself, the word feeling strange on his lips when there was weight attached. Even so, he felt a smile creep onto his lips.

-  
_  
"Did I dream about what happened last night? Or was that real?" Raito licked his dry lips and rolled over on his side where he was face to face with his spooning partner of the night._

L laughed and pressed his forehead to the other's, "Unless you had a wet dream about me, no. But if not, then yes, we did have a romantic break-through."

"Well I can't promise that part about the wet dream…"

"Raito-kun was making some pretty suggestive noises in his sleep last night," L leaned in and rubbed their noses together, "It was very hard not to take advantage of the situation."

"Hah." Raito stole a quick kiss, "No taking advantage until you're a free man. And then you're my man."

"We talked about that last night. You don't have to worry, I'll fix things very soon. I look forward to belonging to you." He returned the kiss.

For some reason, Raito couldn't keep his hands to himself. He had been good about it for a long time, but after last night all he wanted to do was to pin the other down and make him his. Over and over again.

"Hmmmmm…." L drew out.

"Hmmm what?"

"It appears that I have something poking me in the leg."

"Ahh shit," Raito embarrassingly rolled over and groaned. "Well it is the morning."

"Thinking about me?" L teased innocently and wrapped his arms around Raito from behind.

"Hell no. Why would I do something stupid like that?"

"I'm rather irresistible, if I do say so myself." L nibbled on the younger man's ear, knowing that it might just set him off.

Not getting a response, L moved his lips along the tanned flesh of Raito's neck, sucking lightly until he heard Raito hold his breath. He smiled, knowing he was getting a rise out of him. Without hesitation, his hand danced around the waistband of Raito's boxers, taunting strokes of his long fingers threatening to go lower… and lower.

"Goddammit!" Raito barked, spun around and pinned L to the bed beneath him. "You can't do that!"

With a disappointed face L grumbled, "You're still weird around me. Even though you're my boyfriend."

"Yes and no." He moved his knee up to spread L's legs suggestively, "But you need to be on your way to pick up Misa and take her to the airport."

"Oh? What time is it?" A whimper came from L as Raito kissed along his collar bone, and his hand trailed up his thigh.

He paused his assault and looked up to the clock. "Late. It's after 9."

"What?" L shoved the other man off him and rushed to pick his shirt and socks from the floor, "I'm late!"

Raito laughed, "Wow. I think that's the first time ever you've rejected me."

"Mm, it's very difficult," L gave him a quick peck and waved, "We'll pick up where we left off very soon! I'll call you!"  
  
"Raito!" Sayu screamed and slammed her hands down onto the table, glaring daggers at her brother.

"Huuh? He turned his head more lazily then the startling noise warranted.

"Where are you?" She demanded, "Because your brain sure isn't here!"

"Oh."

"Don't 'oh' me! What's your deal? I've been talking for five minutes straight and you've been staring off into nowhere!" She was huffing, and Raito knew it was about time to pacify her before she went off the deep end.

"Ahh I'm sorry about that. I'm thinking about…" he hesitated slightly, trying to think of something that wasn't last night, "when I want to go back to school."

Sayu looked a little calmer. "I'm so glad you're really serious about that. I've been worried, I don't want you just working at that store your whole life. You weren't made for retail."

"Are you trying to say something?"

"No, no, no!" She laughed and continued, "So when are you thinking? Have you even applied?"

"Of course."

"And you were accepted?"

"Obviously."

"You're cocky." Sayu rolled her eyes.

"Always have been, always will be."

"That's just like you, big brother. You're too used to getting your way. Someone needs to kick you in the ass."

"Already happened. And I got my way anyway." Raito leaned in on his elbows and Sayu smacked him before he could start gazing off in the distance again.

"Raiiiiito," she sang and jabbed him a few times in his arm, "Are you in looooove?"

Before he could think, his cheeks turned bright red and he snapped back, "No!"

"Oh geez. Is this why I've barely seen you for the past few weeks? You said you've been working but you've obviously found someone. When do I get to meet the lucky girl? Or are you still going through that gay phase?"

"Shut up."

"So who's the lucky guy?"

"There is no guy! What's your problem? Why can't someone be single and happy?" Raito gritted his teeth, because if there was one person who couldn't know, it was his loud-mouthed little sister.

"I will find out." She vowed, "I'll stalk you until I find out."

"You have better things to do with your time, brat."

"Not currently. And besides, I'm curious. I never see you like this. I usually just see you pissed off," she said thoughtfully.

"Hah, you mean you're not more interested in seeing Matsuda?" Raito stuck out his tongue.

Her red face looked identical to her brothers from a minute ago. They were clearly related.

"Hah," she tried to laugh it off, "You're just trying to change the subject!"

"Come on, I've obviously heard the rumors, " he continued to tease.

Two could play at that game.

"I'll give you the scoop if you tell me."

And of course, she managed, with great ease, to turn things back on him.

"Nah, I don't really want to know about your sex life."

"We're not having sex!" The red painted her face again.

"That's not what I heard from Mello."

"Mello's an asshole!"

"Well yeah. That's why I'm friends with him. Assholes like assholes. And Sayu likes Matsuda."

"Well…. It's nothing serious, anyway!" She emphasized, "We're just talking."

"Boning."

"Jesus, Raito! I'm not a slut like L or anything! You know, some people have morals and talk, and get into a relationship before they have sex. Like real people are supposed to do," Sayu scoffed and then was caught off guard by the rage in Raito's eyes.

"I guess that makes me a slut for hooking up with him in the first place, right? Sorry you think we're such fuck ups and the scum of society. You're just so much better than me, Sayu, I wish I could be as perfect as you are," there was a bitter venom in his voice.

"No, Raito, I didn't mean you I just meant- god, why do you take things so serious? You're still so pissed about that! I'm not talking about you at all! Come on, he upset you too, why are you getting so protective?" Sayu defended, and reached out to grab his hands.

He jerked away like her hands were on fire, "I need to go to work, you're gonna have to leave."

"Shut up, I know you don't work today, that's why I came over! What's your problem?"

"I suddenly feel like I'm going to get called in. If you could get out, that'd be great." He stood up and began the walk to the door, "I'll see you out."

"Are you really doing this right now?" She blinked a few times, and after a moment of silence, realized he was dead serious and got up to follow him. "What's wrong? Something's wrong and I don't like it when you're like this."

"No, I'm fine, I just have things to do. So I guess you should go live your perfect life with Matsuda right now, huh?"

"I am so confused…" She stood still right in front of Raito, waiting for him to say something.

"No need to be." Raito swung open the door.

And suddenly Sayu's answer was right in front of her eyes.

A slouched man in a pair of baggy jeans and an equally baggy white shirt was pressing the lock button on his car and walking up the sidewalk towards the door.

L blinked at the girl's presence and froze. "Oh dear…"

-

End of part


	10. Chapter 10

White Lies  
Part 10 

"Oh dear…"

If there was one thing both Sayu and Raito weren't expecting it was L standing in front of the house.

"Hello there, Sayu!" L tried to shake it off and see what Raito was going to do. The girl was probably unaware they were even friends, let alone anything else. This was quite suspicious.

Raito's surprised face showed him all that he needed to know. So did Sayu's gritted teeth.

"Hello there, L. What are you doing over here?" Sayu didn't turn around to her brother, if she was going to get the truth out of someone it, was this man.

"Hmm… I'm visiting Raito-kun, of course."

"Do you visit Raito-kun often?"

"Sayu, what the hell," Raito said from behind her.

She turned around and gave him a death glare, "So. Is this why you got so upset when we just spoke about him? Because you're still being a sneaky, shitty friend and helping him be a sneaky, shitty boyfriend?" Sayu turned her attention back to L, "How was dropping Misa off at the airport? Did you feel relieved now that she's gone and you don't have to worry about lying to her about where you are all the time? Because I know she had mentioned to me how it was nice to know you respected her busy schedule and didn't mind giving her lots of nights to herself. Wow, so considerate. I wish I had someone as considerate and wonderful as you in my life."

"Sayu!" Raito tried to grab her shoulder before she stomped towards the one she had turned her attention to.

"Don't you feel bad at all? Do you have a conscience? How can you, and continue to, do this to Misa? I'm not dumb. I know how messed up you are, and she told me I have to tell her if you're fucking around while she's gone. I guess it just sucks the first day she's gone, I already have to break the news to her. Stop cheating on my friend and fucking my brother!" She yelled, not caring if all the neighbors heard. One who was out watering the flowers had already snuck a glance over, "I'm sick of your drama and everyone being pissed because of you!"

L stood still. When he came back to see Raito, this was the last thing he was expecting. He had hoped to possibly be crawling into bed as the other man slept in, not faced with the rage of a scorned woman. What could he say?

"Sayu! Stop it! He hasn't been fucking your brother, ok? I'd tell you the truth, and you know that. I always do, and you have no right to talk to him like that. He has been being a good boyfriend and—"

"I like your brother quite a lot. And I plan on telling Misa the truth as soon as she gets home. I just didn't want to distract and possibly upset her on her trip." L tried to explain.

"Possibly upset her? Are you joking?" Sayu snapped, "You have no idea how much she loves you, and just because you want my brother's dick, and probably a million others for shits and giggles, gives you no right to hurt her like that and move on!"

"Can we discuss this inside?" L continued to see if it was possible to calm the girl down, "I'd like to clarify some things."

"I don't need anything clarified." Sayu brushed past him, and before she got in her car, shouted, "Have fun at work, Raito-kun."

The door slammed and no one moved for what seemed like an eternity. The woman watering her flowers hurried inside her house, blushing a fierce shade of red, and quietly shut the door as if she had never been present. Slowly, but surely, L continued up the sidewalk and to the porch where Raito waited in silence.

"I guess that wasn't the best time to—"

"It's fine. She was already leaving pissed as it was. I'm sorry she said all that shit," Raito led the two of them back inside. "And before you ask, no, I don't have work, I was just trying to get her to leave in the first place."

"I probably deserved that, actually. And to think, I've been rather good lately." L followed him closely. "I should have told Misa before she left…I kept thinking about it on the ride over and couldn't bring myself to do it."

"No, you were right about letting her enjoy her trip. And don't worry, Sayu's all talk. She won't have the heart to tell on you. She'd be too afraid of hurting her. And I bet she's still planning on interrogating me to get all the facts. When you think about it, you really haven't cheated on her. We haven't done anything, contrary to Sayu's dirty imagination," Raito sat down on a chair and pulled L onto his lap, "Although, I do remember telling you she was coming over today, that's why I was cleaning last night."

"Ah, I forgot," L said. Then he was oddly quiet.

"It's OK. She'll calm down soon. You know how she gets all worked up and then over it in a day." Raito waited another minute, "Hey. What's wrong?"

"Just thinking. Don't worry about it. I think I should go, though." L tried to get up, but the other's arms tightened around him.

"I don't want you to."

"Normally, I wouldn't want to either, but I seem to be strangely affected by Sayu's words," L admitted.

"Shut up," Raito pressed his lips to L's. "You're over it. Want to go out?"

"Go out?"

"Yeah. You're pretty much my boyfriend now. Let's have a date."

L blinked, "Raito-kun wants to go out on a date?"

Raito didn't even roll his eyes, "Duh. So let's go."

"Raito-kun really is an excellent boyfriend!"

* * *

Sayu didn't bother calling. She just stalked directly over to her friend's and swung open the door.

"Matsuda!" She practically screamed, and continued her trek to the living room, where she figured he would be.

"Ahhh! Sayu, what's wrong?" Matsuda scrambled up from the floor, the girl's unannounced shriek had caught him off guard, and sent him tumbling from the couch.

"I am so over this!"

Matsuda's jaw dropped, "Wait, is this moving too fast for you? I mean, we don't have to hang out every day, I know you have a life and I don't want to get in the way of that and keep you away from your friends and stressing you out I—"

"Not us!" Sayu cut off his rambling "L!"

He paused and looked as if there was a giant question mark above his head. "Is Misa pregnant?"

"No, my brother!"

"Your brother's pregnant?"

"NO! L is fucking my brother!"

"Again?"

"Yes, again!"

Matsuda paused. "Well… at least no one is pregnant…"

"Are you even listening to me? L. Is cheating on Misa. With my brother!"

"You really didn't see that one coming? We were the ones who figured out stuff was going on between them in the first place," he said and crossed his arms, "It's not like this is anything new for L."

"But it is for Raito! He always tells me the truth!"

"Did you walk in on them or something?"

Sayu made an absolutely disgusted face, "No. I would have already killed myself by now if I had."

"Then Raito told you?"

"No. He said they haven't been, but I know he's lying."

Matsuda raised an eyebrow, "Then you don't have any proof?"

"I have proof because L said he was going to break up with Misa for him!"

"Sayu, that's their business then. I wouldn't worry about it unless you have the full story. Besides, you know I love you, but you meddle too much. You have even outdone me. If he's going to handle it, let him handle it. You said you promised Misa to see if anything happened, and you didn't 'see' anything. You let things get the best of you," he tried to take the fuming girl into his arms, "You don't have to solve everything for everyone. Don't worry about it."

She groaned and sunk into the warm hug and tried to relax. "I hate having to be a good friend when everyone else is so shitty."

"Let's just be shitty people today. Just the two of us. And do… shitty things."

"You couldn't be shitty if you tried."

"Aw, I love it when you're cheesy," he tightened his arms around her and finished, "we could always throw… eggs at people's houses."

"See what I mean? Such a rebel."

* * *

"This was an absolutely terrible idea."

"I'm getting fonder and fonder of it by the minute. And remember, it was Raito-kun's terrible idea."

Ratio sat on the bench, slouched over with this forearms on his knees as he watched packs and packs of children running through the park. Children laughing. Children screaming. Children fighting. He should have expected it, since it was one of those week-long breaks schools give out. It was probably packs of parents who wanted to drain the kids of energy since they'd be stuck with them at home over their 'vacation.'

"Thank god it's not physically possible for us to have a kid." Raito groaned and twitched as a small plastic ball ricocheted off his shoulder from a small blonde girl's surprising strong throw.

L caught it before it fell to the ground and held it out to the child who ran up.

"Mister!" She loudly began, "Why are you sitting like that?"

He didn't pay much attention to the way he sat, and Raito had been so used to it he didn't even think it strange when they were out in public. That's why both of them had to look to notice the awkward way he was perched with his knees up to his chest.

"Why do you sit the way you sit?"

"Because mommy tells me to. And that's not the way mommy would have me sit."

L tried again to hand her the ball, but she still stood there with her hands on her hips, trying to get an explanation. He wasn't sure if she was being a brat or really curious.

"Well, I sit this way because Raito-kun tells me to," he grinned over his shoulder, "Raito-kun makes me do very strange things."

"What the—"

"But that's not your mommy! Is that your husband? My daddy always listens to my mommy too."

"We need to work on daddy listening to mommy more, don't we?" Raito elbowed the other man in the side, even though he was less than thrilled about being called a woman by a five year old girl.

The little girl broke down into a fit of giggles, "That's what my mama says! But it's only because my mommy loves my daddy very very much!" She grinned and then barked, "Give me my ball!"

Suddenly, a tall, equally blonde woman rushed up from behind and grabbed her daughter, almost to shield the girl and almost aggressively took the ball from L's hand, tsking as she walked away mumbling, "Don't talk to strangers, Mitsuka!"

Raito smirked, "Pedophile."

"Stings me to the core, wifey."

"Next time, let's go bowling, or something."

"That could be a very interesting event."

"Yeah. Or we could go back to my house and cuddle?"

L got a huge grin on his face when he looked over his shoulder, "It appears as though Raito-kun has just read my mind."

Raito stood up and pulled L to his feet as well, but didn't let his hand go as they walked through the sea of children and exhausted adults back to where they were able to have quality alone time until L had to go take care of the house for the night, since Near had left. And there was obviously the possibility Raito would end up coming with him.

Raito wrapped his arm around L's slouched shoulders, pulled him in close, and then kissed the top of his head.

L peered up and nuzzled against him, "Raito-kun is strangely unopposed to public displays of affection," and accentuated his point with a peck on the cheek.

"Yep," Raito kissed him again, "Just letting people know that you're mine, and I'm not sharing. To prevent me from kicking the shit out of people."

"Ahh, that would make sense. Defensive measures. I don't mind in the least."

And L didn't at all. In fact, as their lips met in another small kiss, he decided he could definitely get used to this. He legitimately could.

* * *

There was a knock at the door and Sayu pulled her hoodie on before walking over to get it. Although it was Matsuda's house, he was in the shower and she had no intention to ignore his guest. When she pulled open the door, she wasn't expecting to see her brother as the guest she had to entertain until her friend was out.

"I don't even want to know why you're here," she glared, "If you have a crush on Matsuda, I am going to kick your homosexual ass, you home wrecker."

"Aw shit, I didn't think you'd catch me that easily!"

Sayu narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, I was just kidding. I came here to see you. Can I come in?"

She cleared the way and let him in. "What do you want? Calling me wasn't good enough, you had to come annoy me in person?"

"Wanna sit down and talk? I think we need to." Raito's eyes were honest and she knew she couldn't refuse him. After all, deep down she really did care about him. No matter how terrible of a home wrecker he was, he was still family.

"What do we need to talk about?" Her voice remained completely deadpan as she sat down across from him.

The serious look in his eyes didn't waiver a bit as he began, "I know you've always been suspicious of L, and I don't blame you. I was too, and rightfully so. You've been in the middle of all these crazy things, and you hear it all. But you're also my sister, and you know that I want you to understand this as much as I hope you want to understand it."

"Just get to the point," she rolled her eyes.

"The point is, yes, I've been with L a lot lately. But I have also been trying my damn hardest to respect Misa. I know you have this idea about raunchy drug-induced sex party orgies that last for days, but it's not like that. It's L and I just hanging out. And nothing is relevant besides yes, I hang out with him, and yes, it sucks, but I really like him. And I think he really likes me. He is planning on breaking up with Misa as soon as she's back. I know you can understand why he's waiting. Sayu, I just don't want you to hate on him for this, I'm the one who kept telling him—"

"Something about raunchy drug-induced sex parties?" Matsuda peeked out from around the corner as he dried his hair off with a towel.

"Raito was trying to sell me a pitch about them," Sayu addressed the newcomer and then turned back to her brother. "I get it. And the only reason I'm saying that is because it's you, and I have to. I don't want you to get hurt and blah blah blah, you know all that. I'll just turn a blind eye on you two shitheads until Misa comes back. So I'll enjoy my last two weeks of freedom without a hysterical, heartbroken friend and I suggest you two do the same."

Raito smiled brightly, "Sounds good. I'll get going and leave you to enjoy the rest of the night."

"Have a good night!" Matsuda waved and stopped when he heard Raito chuckle. "What?"

"I knew you two were boning."

"Fuck you!"

End of part


	11. Chapter 11

Notes: Thank you to Miss ElizabellaLight for all the help, beta'ing and being such a good BFF! This is where even more of an M rating kicks in. So many thanks for your reviews, you have no idea how much I adore them :)

White Lies  
Part 11

Misa sat in a room with her agent. She was anxious with her legs crossed, the long 5 inch heels touching the ground, clicking incessantly as her leg restlessly jumped up and down. They were talking about their schedule for the next few days, but it was clear the girl's thoughts were somewhere else. Her eyes were flashing to the wall every ten seconds, and Soushi knew it was specifically to the clock. He knew, as she had been giggling about all day, that she was going to get an 'online date' with her boyfriend today. She had dolled herself up to a ridiculous degree, extra-long eyelashes, glossy red lipstick that shined like a bright, bloody sunset, as well a raunchy push-up bra that would make a saint look twice. Soushi thought this boyfriend, L, was a very lucky man, and must be counting down the minutes to see his girlfriend as well. Maybe his attempts to go over the schedule with her were in vain, and he should just allow the girl her privacy and pick up after when she wasn't as distracted.

He shuffled his papers together and slid them into the folder. It wasn't until he stood up and pushed his chair into the desk that Misa registered he was leaving. And then she smiled.

"Are we done for the day, Mr. Soushi?"

"Yes, at least for a little while. I'll let you have some time to yourself before you get to see your boyfriend. I know how much you're looking forward to it. I'll grab a bite to eat and you just go ahead and text me when you're done and we'll meet up and continue this," he smiled and made his way to the door, "have fun!"

"Yay! Thank you!" She gave him a wink, "I definitely will, I'll even email him now and see if he can get on early! I'm so excited to see him!"

The pure elation on the girls face was worth it to the manager so he wasn't bothered in the least. He was used to having to make special accommodations for the girl anyway. She wasn't exactly the most professional client, but at the end of the day he loved working with her.

The moment he left, she jumped over to the desk he had vacated and opened the laptop sitting there. She typed like a tornado into her the browser and typed even faster when she opened up a new message addressed immediately to her boyfriend. The 'send' button was clicked in less than a minute. 

* * *

L earned a husky moan from Raito as his teeth grazed a collar bone and his finger nails raked along the tender flesh of the younger man's ribs. The grazing turned into nipping, and the nails wandered a bit lower and played with the boy's pockets. Raito grabbed a fistful of hair at the nape of L's neck and forced their lips together in a passionate kiss. The raven haired man braced himself, one hand on Raito's hip and another on the bed to the right of Raito's shoulder as the other used the grip to jerk L's neck to his lips.

His kiss was as rough as his grip. He switched between biting and sucking, depending on which caused his lover to make the most noise. And he knew from previous experience that L made the sexiest noises, and demanded the dirtiest things while fucking. Neither one were sure if that's where it was going, but it was sure fun in the meantime. They had missed the feel of each other's bodies…of each other's skin. The cravings had escalated with every single innocent kiss, every single night tangled in each other's arms, and whether they chose to admit it or not, they were never meant to be platonic 'friends.' Maybe it was Sayu's 'blessing' that had made the gnashing mouths and grinding erections all right for now.

There was a smirk on Raito's lips, because he knew, without a doubt, he was leaving a mark. He decided it was time to change the pace. His slid out from under L, and without letting go, pulled his nape, and pushed his hip. He liked looking down at L from this angle. He liked watching him arch his back and moan for more. Raito finally released and grabbed both of L's forearms. He slid along the milky-white flesh until he reached his wrists and pinned them above his head.

"God, I can't wait to-"

He was cut off by the whining of a loud ring coming from a chair in the room. It wasn't stopping.

"What the hell?" Raito grumbled.

"Ahh, it's my alarm!" L exclaimed and pulled free from a crestfallen Raito's grip, "I told Misa I'd meet her on skype!"

"You can't be serious right now."

"Unfortunately, I am very, very serious."

Raito collapsed backwards in the bed, "These are the worst blue balls I've ever had in my life. I think I have to kill myself. I'm also very, very serious."

L turned on the lights, pulled a shirt on and turned on his laptop, "And you think that I'm thrilled about this, Raito-kun? Don't say anything. Go take a cold shower, or something. Hopefully this won't take long."

"Just don't have cyber sex with her or anything, please. I might have to break up with you."

"I promise." L took a deep breath, tried to fix his hair (which was pointless, since it looked like he had sex hair all the time anyways) and logged in.

Immediately, the video chat popped up and the girl was glaring.

"Hi, Misa!" L greeted with a smile.

"L! Why are you getting on just NOW!" She demanded, the scowl still heavy on her face.

"What do you mean? I thought now was the time we decided on…" He was confused. He had hoped his alarm didn't go off, and over their 'activity' he missed it the first time.

"I emailed you! I told you I could get on earlier, and you didn't get it! I've been waiting for you for a half hour!" She pouted, "You have no idea how much I've missed my boyfriiiend."

"And I've missed you very much too. The last few days have been very different without you." That was something he could honestly say.

"Hmm…" she turned her head to the side, "You've changed already, have you gone shopping?"

"What do you mean?" L also turned his head to the side.

"I've never seen that shirt before! It looks good on you. It looks familiar. I go shopping a lot though, I'm sure I've just seen it on display before," she smiled and played with a lock of her hair, "Aww, you must have bought it just for our date!"

L looked down, and if he wasn't so good at his poker face, he would have panicked. In the rush to get online, it seemed he had pulled on Raito's shirt. He forced a smile, "Of course I did. I thought you would appreciate it, you look quite lovely yourself."

"You're so sweet!"

L heard Raito chuckle very softly from the doorway. Apparently he hadn't left yet and he was reveling in L's own awkwardness. To make matter's worse, he hadn't even put a shirt on, and L was still rather aroused. If there was a situation more awkward, he couldn't think of one. But ideas began running through his head as Raito began walking over. Fuck.

"How's your trip?" L turned back to the screen, having only diverted his attention for less than a second, and Misa hadn't noticed. He needed to focus. This wasn't the time for him to fuck up.

"Oh it's wonderful! I wish you were here though!" She pouted, "We've done so much already, the people here are so much different than the people in Japan, but I really think I fit in and…"

As Misa continued things got a whole lot more awkward. All of a sudden, both his ankles were grabbed and in one quick movement, pulled out from under him, away from his normal crouched position to the floor. His feet landed with a thud, but luckily, because of his fast reflexes, nothing from his torso up moved. Now he was just sitting like a normal person would sit. His eyes widened a little and he flinched. Raito smirked from under the table. Misa was so absorbed in her story about California weather and the beach she hadn't the slightest clue.

L's greatest fear came true. Raito's hands snaked slowly from his knees to his inner thighs and L fought desperately to cross his legs while keeping a straight face above the table. That didn't stop the younger man at all. He just moved to a slightly different goal. One that couldn't be defended against while L's hands were on the table. He skillfully reached up and unbuttoned the pants.

What Raito didn't expected was a direct kick to his stomach, but what L didn't expect was Raito's finger's hooking into his waistband and getting pulled down with them. L caught himself quickly on the arms of the chair, but Raito jerked the pants off the rest of the way down. L was about to kill Raito, and Raito was about to die of laughter.

It was insane, but as L held his breath, he soon realized Misa didn't even see that.

Raito wasn't even beginning, and L knew it. Which is why he tried one more time to kick him, hoping to god he'd nail him in the jaw. Instead, Raito grabbed his ankle and used that to wedge his body between the man's legs so he could no longer cross them. Now he had the advantage. And L was afraid.

"And after we're done in California, I think we're going to Vegas! Although I'm not sure about what day!"

Raito's lips brushed along the bare skin on the inside of L's thigh, breath slow and steady as he moved those gorgeous lips inch by inch…

"I couldn't concentrate on what my manager said because I was so excited to see you! I guess I should have listened because then we could've planned our next date now instead of later…"

L's struggle to pull his legs together became half hearted as Raito's fingers pulled down his boxers and the cool air of the room hit his exposed cock.

"I hope the drive isn't long, I get so anxious. I'm not even sure if Vegas is a state?"

Raito's nails clawed at L's hip bone and his lips were so dangerously close he could feel it… he was so hard it hurt.

"But I'm hosting an event at the Bellagio! Or is it Caesar's Palace? Which is the one with the water fountain with the lights and the music?"

Raito's tongue finally traced the full length of his erection and flicked across the tip.

"Bellagio," L spit out and slammed his elbows onto the table.

It was so hard to keep it together. So fucking hard.

"Hmm… then what's the other one?"

Raito's tongue repeated the motion, but his cold fingers joined on the other side, teasingly slow once again.

"Palace of… Caesar."

"Well I know that, silly!"

L could feel as Raito chuckled, clearly mocking the self-control he was lacking right now. Asshole.

"What kind of event?" He prompted the girl more. She needed to talk. Talk as long as she possibly could.

He stole a glance down to Raito and almost came right then. He couldn't afford to look down again. The sight of Raito going down on him in such outrageous and almost dangerous, to L, situation was too much to handle.

"Well, I'm not really sure...like I told you, I didn't really talk to my manager as much as I should have..."

Raito's hot mouth teased the head of his cock, swirling, lapping and then finally sucking.

L bit his lip so hard he knew he was moments away from drawing blood, he also thought of something absolutely devious.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, Misa. I'm very lonely without you."

She blushed, "I'm glad you said something, because I can't stop thinking about you either…"

"I miss all the sexy things you dress up in for me," L's voice took on a breathy tone, inspired by the way Raito was touching him, and began to beat him at his own game.

"You know," she gave him a naughty grin, "I wore something sexy for you tonight..."

"Mm, show me baby."

He wasn't sure if Raito wasn't hearing their conversation, he was aroused by the situation, or he thought of it as a competition, but suddenly he took all of L into his throat.

Misa reached down to the bottom of her dress and slowly pulled it up, revealing a black lacy pair of panties that left very little of the imagination and slowly turned around to reveal her very perky bare ass.

L moaned out loud as Raito's head bobbed up and down on his cock and he stared as Misa playfully tugged at the side of her thong barely getting out, "I wish I could spank you."

She giggled and pulled her dress all the way off, the webcam focused on supple breasts, nearly completely exposed in an equally lacy black bra. She slowly pulled one of the straps down and asked in a sexy voice, "What do you want me to do, baby?"

L grinned and a loud, accidental moan escaped his throat from Raito's expert mouth before watching the screen, trying to focus on Misa. It was easy, because then he was left to pout for a moment as Raito stopped. Now to another form of entertainment.

He leaned closer to the computer and smirked, "Touch yourself."

Misa's hand began at her slim abdomen and sensually snaked down to her panties. Her fingers dipped below them, but with how sheer the lace was it was just was easy to see as her fingers slipped into her wet-

The laptop slammed shut and Raito was standing behind the closed computer with a strange expression on his face. But L knew that expression to be two different emotions - which he came to expect. Both of which, he was rather frightened of.

He didn't have to say anything, Raito walked around to his side, and kicked the chair out from under him. It hit the floor with a loud crash and knocked the wind out of L, who was thankful he managed to avoid slamming his head into the ground. The next moment, Raito was on top of him with one hand around his throat and another gripping his hip.

Especially now, L didn't think he could possibly be more aroused.

"Is Raito-kun mad at me?" He asked innocently.

The hold around his neck tightened, "I haven't decided yet."

L used the chair to push off, in a vain attempted to escape. He needed to catch his breath before the real battle began. He barely got to a crouched position before he failed.

Raito reached out and snagged 'his' shirt, pulling L back down to the floor and grabbed his wrist. L decided he wasn't going to get the chance and turned back around, using the little momentum to knock Raito down and claim Raito's spot on top. He tangled both his hands in auburn hair and kissed him aggressively.

"I won't let you be mad at me. You started it. You're the one that began this game tonight," L nipped at his bottom lip, "I was just getting you back."

He smirked, "You're in such high demand. How on earth am I going to hold onto you?"

"Work for it," L's mouth crushed Raito's again with a ferocity that lit him on fire.

"I don't have to work for anything," Raito emphasized his point by reaching down L's boxers, "You're two seconds away from begging to ride my cock."

The dirty words, as well as Raito's hand wrapped around him made the moan uncontrollable. Where was his self-discipline? Oh yes, it was probably on a vacation due to the fact that he hadn't gotten laid in over a week. And he had been dreaming about having Raito every night since the moment Raito decided they couldn't fuck. That didn't mean that he still didn't want the game.

"You should try riding my cock," L leaned down and whispered into Raito's ear, "Misa's rather fond of it."

Raito gritted his teeth and grabbed the collar of L's shirt, which earned the hiss of a small tear in the fabric and with dangerous growl said, "You wanna try and say that again?"

L was game, "We should have stayed online longer and you could have seen all the things she'd do for me."

"We'll see all the things you'll do for me," Raito didn't care, he tore straight down the middle of the shirt and ripped it from L's body.

Normally, they were evenly matched, but when L was taunting and Raito was angry, it was Raito who had the advantage in strength. He easily knocked L back over and grabbed him by the arm to shove him onto the bed.

"Aww, Raito-kun's so kind to think of my comfort before taking his aggression out on me."

"Yes, I am," Raito smiled and then went to kiss his lips.

However, the kiss took a detour to the crook of his neck where it immediately drew blood. L hissed and clenched his fists, but made no move to retaliate, instead he decided to grind his overlooked erection against Raito's. He knew he deserved the rough treatment. It wasn't until the third bite that L decided his nails raking at Raito's back sounded like a good idea. It also sounded like a good idea to repay Raito for the treat at the table earlier.

He violently pushed Raito back and yanked his boxers off. He waited until Raito looked directly in his eyes before he licked his lips and took the entire cock into his mouth. If there was one thing L was a master at, it was deep-throating, making Raito's mouth fall open and back arch. Which is why he didn't feel bad for a second about gripping the man's hair and pulling his head farther down on his dick.

"Fuck, L… fuck…"

"Mmm…" he hummed, continuing for a moment longer before Raito let go of his hair, "You really wanna fuck L, huh?"

"How'd you guess that?" Raito grabbed him by the waist and paused for a second, as if he was debating something in his head.

L decided to make the choice for him, before he could think anymore. He shoved Raito back down, snapping him out of his thoughts and sank back down to his dick but not before spitting into his palm.

"Just enjoy, Raito-kun," he teased.

"Wait you-"

"No, no. I know you will enjoy this," L's tongue lapped up and down his dick, taking it back into his mouth and Raito couldn't help the heavy breaths coming from his chest.

The hot wetness left, and L asked sensually, "So how long was I supposed to wait before begging to ride your cock?"

Raito watched as L straddled him, his fingers stroking low on his stomach, "You're all ready, huh?"

L didn't take much more of a hint than that. He didn't need to beg. He knew Raito wanted him, no matter how mad Raito was, no matter how wrong he thought it might be, no matter how much hesitation or time he needed to justify. If L decided for him it was best, because he knew Raito would be screaming in no time.

The older man lifted his hips and watched the look on Raito's face as he slowly lowered himself onto Raito's cock. It did hurt, it had been a while since he'd been with a man, but the rest of the night had already hurt and being with Raito was always rewarding. Especially now. He just bit his lip and dealt with the pain. The gasp from Raito's lips made it all worth it. Shivers ran through L's spine when Raito's eyes met his with pure lust and he grabbed his hipbones.

L grinned as Raito leaned up and captured his lips in a kiss, he began harsh thrusts into him, leaving L very, very little time to adjust to Raito's size. He hissed against the throbbing, and wasn't sure if it was coincidence or because of the brunette's hand wrapped around his erection. The pumping sent pleasure through his body to rival the pain, and then when Raito hit that sweet spot inside him, all of that was completely forgotten.

Their mouth's mashed together in another fight for dominance, the current score was fuzzy. Both of them could justify superiority, but if one was winning, one could get up and leave the winner. However in reality, neither could. They were enamored in the moment, enamored with each other. In every kiss, every bruise, every stinging comment, every stolen breath.

In between every angry grab, there was a tender stroke. Amidst the jealous growls, a forgiving kiss. But now it was physical, there was time to fully make up later. As long as there were small reminders, it was completely acceptable to tear and bruise now.

L's breath was racing faster and with every second he was riding Raito, craving the friction as he was getting closer and closer to orgasm. He knew by how deep Raito's fingernails were cutting into his flesh that he was too. L had been trying to keep to himself, the game, in full force, but he couldn't help but beg, "Raito, fuck, come inside me…"

Raito gritted his teeth, not slowing down his pace for a second, "I'm gonna…"

The younger man threw his head back as the euphoria washed over him, and L crumbled forward coming right after. Suddenly, a weight had been lifted and L found his place, tenderly even, on Raito's chest, trying to slow his racing heart.

They laid together for while in silence. Tangled in a mess of sweaty limbs and heavy breaths.

"Raito-kun?"

"Hmm?"

L was hesitant, but then eventually said, "You know I only did that because you were there and antagonizing me, right? If it was just her and I talking I wouldn't have said anything remotely flirtatious. I know that may not make sense… but I truly don't want anyone other than you."

Raito blinked and glanced at the man cuddled up against his chest. "Yeah… that doesn't make sense. But it does. Or I want it to, at least," he started laughing, "I don't want anyone but you either."

"I'm glad this didn't set us back…" L smiled and closed his eyes.

"Yeah. Don't try that again."

"Agreed. I need to recuperate at least a week before we attempt sex like that again."

End of part


	12. Chapter 12

White Lies

Chapter 12

The hissing of hot water fell over his ears and the heat soothed aching muscles. A cold wave of air hit his skin as the shower curtain flew open.

"I'm going to work," Raito announced and grabbed L's wrist to pull him out of the stream of water for a quick kiss, "See you later tonight!"

L grinned and leaned in to press one more kiss to the other's lips, "All right, have a good day. Sell lots of merchandise, or what you need to do..."

"So much insight onto my life," Raito gave L's wet ass a good smack, "Be good while I'm gone."

"I'll naturally wait for Raito-kun to arrive home to be bad. Until then."

Raito chuckled and shut the drape between him, "I'll hold you to that."

"I'll hold you to anything you want."

* * *

Mello sneered as Raito walked back into the break room to hang up his jacket.

"What?" The brunette questioned, "You're being more of a creep than usual."

"You're easy to creep on. More than usual."

"Okay. What is it?" Raito rolled his eyes, "Just get out with it. Did you hear something from Sayu or what? Are you watching me extra hard now?"

"Huh?" Mello blinked, "No, man. But you might need to work on covering that giant bite mark on your neck. Why do I need to be watching you really hard? What's the latest gossip?"

"I don't have a bite mark on my neck."

"Um. Yeah. You do."

Raito grumbled and walked quickly into the bathroom. He could have sworn he'd checked early that morning before he went to work. He didn't see it at first, but right by the nape of his neck, the red teeth marks stood out brightly on his skin. For a fleeting moment he laughed, but then realized just how hard hiding this would be.

_Asshole._

"So. Fill me in on the drama?" Mello was digging through a pile of clothes while he addressed the man behind him who was emerging from the bathroom.

"No drama. Just my life being awkward with this shit."

"Here, my little metro," Mello tossed a scarf at him, which was what he had been looking for, "That might work."

Raito groaned about the article of clothing then gave in and wrapped it around his neck, "How considerate."

"I've always got my friends back. Now the question. Who _really_ has yours?"

"Your mom."

"You're so funny."

"I can't tell you anything. You blab to everyone about everything someone is stupid enough to trust you with."

With a shrug, Mello stated, "You have to keep things interesting somehow. I have to pass along the little dirt, until there's big dirt. Wanna help?"

"Hmm... we can make something up. Like you might be Jesus because your palms and feet started bleeding last night and you had dreams of God."

"Hey, I kind of like that one!"

"You would," Raito smacked Mello on the arm, "Anti-Christ."

"You know," Mello started and followed Raito out of the break room, "I don't know what's going on, but you're pretty happy with life. Maybe hell is freezing over and I _am_ Jesus."

"Fuck you."

"No, I mean I like it. You're not the brooding, dark soul anymore. Not to be cheesy, but it's pretty great. Whoever changed it around for you deserves a pat on the back."

"Yeah. That was pretty cheesy. What's even cheesier is that I'm not even mad. I'm content for the first time in a while."

"Don't fuck it up. Oh, and invite me to the wedding."

"You can be the flower girl."

"I'll go shopping for my dress after work."

* * *

Sayu was getting anxious. As she walked through the party isle of the store looking for a "Welcome Home" banner, all she could think about was how Misa's homecoming get together would probably end with a bang. A terrible, horrible, the-world-is-ending bang. If Raito and L said they were going to take care of it, she convinced herself she wasn't being a bad friend for hiding the information from Misa.

She was actually a terrible friend for having agreed on a double-date with the two later tonight.

_Oh, the irony_, she thought as she grabbed a packet of balloons and a glittery banner.

She couldn't believe the weeks had flown by and Misa was already due home in a few days. Her course led her next to the liquor isle, where the majority of her money would be spent. There would be a lot of drowning sorrows in less than 48 hours.

* * *

L was lounging around on a couch, awaiting Near's return. The boy had been gone much longer than he had expected, but notified him he was going to be back within the hour. L was more than curious about why he had disappeared for weeks. He was used to avoiding the younger boy, not missing him because of how silent and lonely the house had been. At least Raito was around to keep him company. And to keep him very, very busy in those hours he wasn't at work.

He heard a key click from the front door, and wondered why Near hadn't just knocked. He couldn't blame him, though. L had an uncanny knack for not being around when Near had needed him to be.

"So, how is Watari?" L called out, and Near walked into the room with a bag full of papers that he began pulling out.

"Watari is well. We had much to do while we were away."

"And you probably won't tell me about it?"

"You don't need to be worried. Ever since you decided you didn't want to be involved with work anymore. But you do need to look at this." Near handed over one folder from the stack he had been carrying, "You knew it would be time soon."

L dreaded opening the folder after the last comment Near threw out. When he read the first paragraph, his suspicions were confirmed and he didn't make eye contact.

"All right. We'll finish this discussion soon. I need to get ready for a date."

"A date?" Near repeated, "Has Misa already returned home?"

L finally glanced up and said after a moment of silence, "No. But unfortunately I've found someone I'm quite fond of while she's been away, and I'm preparing for a nice evening, while I still can."

There was a knock at the door, and then it swung open. Ironic how Raito felt comfortable walking right into the house and Near almost snuck in.

"Ready for an interesting night?" Raito called as he walked around the corner, and then paused when he saw Near.

"Hello, Raito."

"Hi, Near. Did you have fun on your trip to Osaka?"

Near glanced over as L handed the folder back to him, not flinching at his lie. L had no idea where he had been, and it surely hadn't been Osaka. "Yes. It was great."

"Good," Raito changed his focus to the black haired man, "You almost ready?"

"I just need to change my clothes," L walked up and placed a kiss on Raito's cheek, "Then it's off to dinner we go!"

He hesitated and looked back at Near, he wondered if he knew about them too. Well, he obviously did now, especially when L laced their fingers together and pulled Raito upstairs and he gave the brunette a small nod.

He supposed it didn't matter, since everyone would be finding out in a matter of days anyway.

* * *

"Another bottle of wine, please!" Matsuda announced joyously as he flagged down the waiter.

"You're lucky I love you, brother, or else I wouldn't have thought twice about ignoring this date," Sayu laughed and then reached across the table to finish Raito's cup while they were waiting, "At least it's fun!"

"If by fun, you mean free alcohol," the brother in questioned teased and pointed at Sayu's rosy cheeks, "Don't get in too much trouble."

"Speaking of trouble," Sayu poked at her salad, and turned her attention to L, "I wanted to apologize about yelling at you before. Not gonna lie, I was pissed at the time, but then I thought about how upset Raito got and how much more easy-going he now... I guess I overreacted."

"And she was on her period," Matsuda threw in, "You know how she gets."

"Screw you," Sayu elbowed him in the side.

"Oh, look, more wine!" Matsuda said quickly, and Sayu held her cup out and the waiter made another refill around the table.

L nodded and fidgeted around in his seat, Raito not having allowed him to sit in his normal way while they were at a nice restaurant, "Thank you. I can understand where you're coming from," and then added, "Misa becomes far more hostile when she's on her period."

"Oh my god, let's drop it! A toast! To being happy, and drinking lots!"

Everyone raised their glass and as soon as a clink was heard, Sayu began chugging. Raito shrugged his shoulders and washed his down too. After all, no one could out drink the Yagami siblings. In addition, L didn't have much of a problem being the designated driver, having barely touched his first glass. Come to think of it, L was serious about not being fond of alcohol, and he was more than likely only drinking out of respect for Matsuda, who was spoiling the table. Raito smiled and decided to take a sip from L's, making sure none of it went to waste.

"So, L. I heard from Misa that you 'broke your webcam' and can only email her," Sayu grabbed a roll from the center of the table and finished, "That was a pretty sneaky way to get out of talking to her."

"Funny thing is... that wasn't even a lie. Raito-kun got into an argument with my laptop and in the process of slamming it shut, shattered the lens. He was rather mad about something," L shot a smirk over to his lover.

Raito rolled his eyes, and decided to finish L's drink. "Yes. I should have smashed the whole thing."

"Raito-kun can be very violent."

"And you love it."

"I suppose. I'm still rather sore from last night."

Sayu slammed a fist down on the table, "I do NOT want to hear this right now!"

* * *

The night was a strange night, all across the world. Near was working, working, working over piles of papers and making plans that L wasn't thrilled about and Misa was packing her suitcases to return home, which no one was thrilled about.

Yet, four friends had decided to take a small vacation from the world and enjoy themselves in their own little way. The dinner led later into dancing, more drinking and ended with an intoxicated stop to a small, local pizza shop that stayed open extra late to help those going home from the bars sober up. L took it upon himself to drop Sayu and Matsuda off at his place, and return Raito to his.

"That turned out better than I expected," L was led up the steps by a slightly stumbling Raito and grabbed Raito's keys to assist him with opening the door.

"I can't believe it's after three... it's been a while since I've been out this late on a 'school night.'" Raito shut the door behind him, "I think deep down Sayu really does like you, you know."

"That's good, I'm actually very relieved," L wrapped his arms around Raito's waist, "Should I tuck you in now?"

"You're leaving?" The younger man pouted, "I'm not letting you."

"Should I tuck _us_ in, then?"

"That's better," Raito pulled L into a kiss, "I don't like sleeping without you."

"Such a romantic. Or Raito-kun just thoroughly enjoys getting into my pants."

"Not going to deny either," Raito felt the other man's lips curve into a smile as he continued to kiss him, "I could go for a little cuddling right now."

"In my pants?" L raised a mischievous eyebrow, but then stopped himself when Raito nuzzled himself against his chest, "Let's get to sleep. My little buzzed boyfriend needs all the sleep he can get to save himself from a hangover tomorrow."

L remained silent for a moment as they reached the bed, and then realized the other had literally fallen asleep the moment his head hit this pillow, which just so happened to be the raven-haired man. He smiled and wished he had been fond of drinking because he wouldn't mind to be out like a light, as Raito was. Instead, he counted his breaths and the heartbeats of his lover as he slowly, but eventually drifted off.

* * *

All it took was a featherlike touch and L stirred awake. He kept his eyes closed; however, when he realized that touch was the brush of Raito's lips against his neck. As the mouth nibbled teasingly at his jaw bone, his eyes barely opened, and arms pulled Raito closer. The night was still trying to hold on, but the faintest shades of dawn were creeping through the window, colors barely washing in the room. It was just enough to see Raito's grin right before his lips descended upon his lover's.

The older man's teeth playfully tugged at Ratio's lip before whispering, "Good morning to you, too."

"I had a dream about you."

"Was it a good one, then?"

"No. Actually, it wasn't."

"Hmm," L placed both his hands on Raito's chest and pushed him away slightly until he could see the boy's face, "That's a new one. Going to share?"

"Hmm," he repeated, "I don't think so."

"Instead you decided to get me back by taking advantage of me while I slept?"

"Of course. Too bad you woke up," Raito teased and pushed L's arms away, not wanting to be held back. "Be a good boy and pretend to be asleep."

"Raito-kun has some strange fetishes."

"I'm joking, dummy." Raito kissed him again, "I like it much more when you're putting up a fight."

"So you'd like me to put up a fight now?" L asked with a smirk, "Always so horny in the morning."

"What can I say; waking up next to you does that to me. I'm happily used to it. You know, having you whenever I want," he emphasized his point by running his fingertips up L's thigh with a teasing pressure.

"Mm, I spoil you," L raised his hips to meet the other's touch when it brushed against his still jean-clad erection, "I worry Raito-kun may be taking me for granted."

"No," Raito stated quickly, pulling his hand away from L and staring at him again. "I-I don't want you to think that. Ever."

"This turned serious fast," he turned his head to the side, "Does this have anything to do with a recent dream?"

The brunette's face faltered for a second, and then admitted with hesitation, "Maybe."

L couldn't help the sudden laugh that erupted from his chest.

"Hey! It's not funny! That's why I wasn't going to say anything! Because you're an asshole," he glared, and smacked L in the shoulder when he wouldn't stop laughing, "Shut up!"

"I never thought you'd get this attached to me," L reached up and cupped Raito's face in the palm of his hands, "Perhaps Raito-kun is still somewhat drunk?"

The glare he received made him choke down another chuckle, but when he realized just how serious the man was, he wrapped his arms around Raito's waist and flipped him on his back, so the fierce look previously above him faded into a small pout. L flicked him on the forehead, as if to knock the momentary irritation out of him.

The man who suddenly found himself on the bottom leaned up and captured L's lips in a kiss that was anything but aggressive. It was passionate and needy, something that felt foreign but ridiculously arousing. Raito gripped the collar of L's shirt, but once his hands recognized the fabric, he wanted to be rid of it. It wasn't normal for them to fall asleep in their clothes, so logically the most natural thing was to pull them off. A few more heated moments with flying pieces of torn-off clothing quickened the pace until one strangely deep, lingering kiss left them panting.

Time stood still for a second as Raito released L's lips and paused before saying slowly, "Can I tell you a secret?"

L raised an eyebrow, "A secret?"

"Yeah," he shrugged his shoulders and ran his hand through L's hair, "So?"

"Of course. I like secrets."

Raito bit his lip in one more second of hesitation before the near-whispered words came out, "I love you."

L stared down at the boy curiously. It wasn't as though he wasn't used to those words, on the contrary, he heard them every day from Misa's constant emails, but from this man's mouth, they were so… different. And unexpected.

For an instant he was almost frozen in place. Raito jumped right back into character with an annoyed look on his face, but before he could say anything, L shut him up with a new surge of fervor, a new kind of craving.

He was confused, but returned the kiss without thought and tightened the grip he had in L's hair. Then it began. Their tongues collided and increasing frenzied bodies were fueled by near-insanity, Raito's words had ignited a foreign fire that neither had anticipated. It was a different kind of infatuation; the bruises from desperate hands weren't driven by lust, but raw_ need._

"Want to know a secret?" L breathlessly asked.

Raito nodded, his mouth much too preoccupied on L's neck to form a response in words.

L didn't speak until he had wrangled the other close enough to look him straight in the eyes, "I love you too."

For the first time in a long time, Raito was speechless. Although he couldn't find the words, he could feel a smile spreading across his face, and that was all either of them needed.

End of part


	13. Chapter 13

White Lies  
Chapter 13

Misa waited patiently by the airport exit, all her bags (plus some) miraculously made it through the baggage claim and she was waiting for Sayu to come get her. She had been told earlier that week that L would be busy right when her plane landed which made it impossible for him to pick her up. She knew as soon as he made it back to the city he would be there to greet her, and she was ready to jump into his open arms.

This made her smile widely and giggle to herself.

"Misssaaaa!"

She turned around and caught sight of her friend flagging her down and waving her ahead to the car. Then once she zoomed in on the amount of bags, she sighed and walked over to start helping with the dragging.

"How was your trip?" She sparked up the conversation immediately and hugged her friend tightly.

"Great! I made so many connections, and I think they want me to fly back and work with some of the companies in a month or two! It was so much fun! I missed you so much, though! I'm excited to see everyone tonight!" She gushed, "I can't believe I haven't been able to talk to L hardly at all… but I understand, when his computer broke like it did," she sighed, "If only I had one of those international texting and calling plans! How has he been?"

Sayu faked a smile and didn't quite lie when she said, "He's been doing well! He's been keeping busy, even though I'm sure he misses you a lot!"

"Awww," she wiggled back and forth in excitement, and then a mischievous expression flashed on her face, "I'll make up for being gone so long to him tonight!"

Her friend laughed nervously and grabbed a few bags, "Well then, let's get you back!" 

* * *

Matsuda wasn't quite sure why he had decided to host the party. It was true his house was big enough to fit all of Misa's friends and those who wanted to come by for the free booze, but the main reason might have been because it was neutral ground. He didn't like to be in the middle of conflict, he was used to being the optimist and settling things down but not only was this not his business, he hadn't opposed the fact that L was cheating on Misa. He rationalized he was there to be a host, and to comfort Sayu when she became frustrated as well as moody and destructive. Between Misa and Sayu, he only hoped one thing: that nothing gets broken.

People started arriving in small groups around 7 o'clock. The idea was to have a group greeting when the blonde walked in, not unlike a surprise party, even though she knew the party was planned. She would be very excited to see all her friends, and the house was going to be jam packed. Hopefully, there were enough people to distract her until L decided to break the news. With any luck, it would be when people were starting to pass out or trying to trick those who didn't drink into being their designated driver.

Mello was the first one to notice Matsuda's uneasy demeanor and flicked him on the back, "Hey. What's going on with you?"

He shuddered, "I was just worried I didn't get enough chips and veggie trays! I hope it's not all gone by the time Misa gets here!"

The blonde took a swig of his beer, "You are a fucking terrible liar, you know that, right?"

Nervous laughter hit him and he admitted, "Oh, I know. It's just something going on with Sayu and me right now. Nothing you need to worry about."

"All right…" he clearly wasn't convinced, but casually said, "Just as long as we don't have a little Yagami-Touta wandering around any time soon. I refuse to baby sit."

Matsuda's jaw dropped, "Don't go starting rumors! We're very careful!"

"I told Raito the other day; I need some kind of drama. Things have been so boring around here lately."

The older man's mouth slammed shut.

Looks like Mello would be getting his way very soon. 

* * *

Raito and L sat in the car parked down the street about a block away from Matsuda's house. They were holding hands and sitting in silence for a second.

L gave his hand a tight squeeze and unbuckled his seatbelt. It was a little before 8 and Raito had just received a text from his sister giving him the 15 minute warning before their arrival.

"The time has come, Raito-kun."

"I'm surprised you're so calm about this."

"I may be calm on the outside, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to let her down."

"You have to tonight, you know," the brunette threw out quickly, "You can't put it off and—"

"I know. Don't worry. I intend to tell Misa as soon as the time is right, but it will be tonight, don't worry," L leaned in and kissed the other man tenderly, "It's not fair to either of you when I'm in love with _you."_

He returned the kiss and raised a hand to cup L's face, "I like that."

"I just want to make Raito-kun happy," he smiled against his lips. "Let us head into the lion's den."

Before they got out of the car, L turned back around and grabbed the back of Raito's neck and kissed him powerfully. It was the kind of kiss that turned into raw passion in less than a second. His tongue slipped into Raito's mouth and aggressively claimed it. The younger man met his touch with equal force and kissed him hard enough to bruise him. When they pulled away, both of them were slightly breathless.

"Where did that come from?" Raito whispered and trailed his fingertips down L's chest, "Not that I'm mad or anything."

"I just want you to know that I love you. No matter how much of a mess tonight turns into," he laughed, "No matter the dramatics and chaos."

Raito stared into his eyes and nodded, "Sounds good."

L gave him a genuine smile and then turned back to the door, and hopped out. They walked the block together, in no rush what so ever. When they reached the door and walked in, Matsuda ran up to them with two drinks in his hand, announcing, "Better get started!"

Neither of them had to think twice, and for the first time since Raito had known him, L took a few gulps of the drink. Looks like the pressure actually _was_getting to him. They walked through the crammed house, not knowing half the people, and in less than five minutes, Raito returned to Matsuda to ask where the liquor was.

"Shots!" Mello announced and a group of at least 10 people followed him to the kitchen.

Raito being the first one in line. Mello grabbed a half gallon of whiskey and let the booze flow into the mass of shot glasses he found in the cupboard.

Mello had a knack for making himself at home where ever he went, so he didn't have any reservations about grabbing the bartender role. Especially since Matsuda was acting squirrelly. As soon as the group went back out to mingle with another cup of beer from the keg, Raito locked eyes with his co-worker and Mello immediately poured out two more shots. Raito's eyes scanned the room and flagged his boyfriend over, "Shot time! You better be in!" He had to yell over the music, but got his attention.

L just nodded.

They all chorused "cheers" together and tapped the glasses on the table before pouring them down their throats.

The black haired man made a face of disgust, but it turned blank as soon as they heard a wail coming from the door.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to be home and see everyone!" Misa's voice squealed through the house and she rushed in and began attacking people with tackle-like hugs.

L's shrinking into the background did not go unnoticed by Mello who raised an eyebrow and stared over to Raito. He looked almost as awkward, but he forced a smile as Misa's darting eyes searched for the man she thought was her 'boyfriend' too.

She pushed through the crowd and flung herself into the hunched man's arms, who had no choice but to catch her. Before he could say anything, she attacked him with a kiss, and L tried his hardest to stop it immediately, pulling away and saying, "It's great to see you!"

She didn't look phased by it, "I've missed you so much!" She pulled him closer by taking both of his hands and swinging them back and forth, "I can't wait to spend lots more time with you later tonight! I'm going to get a drink and talk with Sayu about something, but I'll be back soon!" She glanced over to Raito and let go of her boyfriend to give him a hug, "It's great to see you again too!"

"Oh, before I forget," L tapped the girl on the top of the head, "Raito-kun and I want to talk to you about something a little later, all right? Go on ahead and visit," he tried to show her a warm smile.

"Ok!" She gave him a carefree beam and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "Don't get too drunk, Raito!"

Raito laughed out loud and watched as she bounced off and continued to mingle.

"That started off on the right foot?"

"What do you have to talk to her about, hmmm?" Mello elbowed L in the side, "A little sit down?"

"You'll just have to wait and see. Let us help ourselves to another drink!" 

* * *

Raito didn't waste any time. Another hour or so passed and he was mingling, walking a little shaky and drinking more beer, all to soothe his nerves. L was doing the same. Every time Sayu glanced over at them it was another small reminder of what was to come. But Raito was also giving L small reminders every once in a while, in the form of comforting touches on his waist.

Mello was watching with mild interest, and Raito rolled his eyes as the looks didn't die down so he walked over and asked, "Wanna go on a cigarette break? I know you smoke when you're drunk. And I really, really need one."

"How do you know I'm drunk?" Mello slurred a little, and tried to pull it off.

Raito tugged on the edge of his shirt, "I watched you miss your mouth last round of shots."

"Ok! Let's go outside!" He blushed and weaved through the beginnings of a rowdy crowd.

The brunette quickly leaned into L and mentioned where he was going and said if he wanted to join he could. L passed, chatting with Matsuda and Matt and waved as Raito walked to the door.

Once outside, Raito pulled out his cigarettes, lit one then passed the pack and lighter to Mello.

"So. You and L, huh?"

He took in a deep drag and let the smoke sit in his lungs for a few seconds. He exhaled and shook his head, "Well, there's the drama you're looking for. We're talking to Misa later tonight. So don't spread it until after."

"Hah, I didn't see that happening. He's the reason for the good mood you've been in lately? Unexpected," Mello handed him back the items and took turns drinking from his cup and smoking. A huge grin spread across his face, "Tell me when it goes down, I wanna have a front row seat." 

* * *

Sayu was doing her part as well, making sure there wasn't a moment Misa's glass was running on empty. Although this was probably for the best, she wasn't sure if her brother's and L's constantly-filled cups were. They were doing much more than just loosening up; they were going above and beyond the challenge of seeing how much they could load into their stomachs and how much their livers could take. She could see a stagger in her brother's step, and knew that meant trouble.

Especially since he'd spent the better half of his time outside chain-smoking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw L pacing around, then walking upstairs, probably to the bathroom. There was a chance he was already puking. It wouldn't surprise her, considering how fast he was moving.

She sighed and turned back to Misa who almost immediately said, "Do you think L's avoiding me?"

"Huh?" She was caught off guard and needed to respond quickly, "Um, I don't think he is, he's probably just giving you time with everyone since you haven't seen them in a while! He's trying not to be selfish, you know how he is."

"Yeah," she breathed in deep, "I guess..." she hesitated again, "I wonder what he has to tell me…"

"Good question."

"Have you seen L?" Raito almost crashed into his sister.

She was alarmed and turned around, "Shit, Raito! I think he went upstairs."

He turned around to leave as quickly as he had 'dropped' in.

"Tell him I wanna see him!" Misa yelled after the man.

He waved at her and wandered to the hallway.

"He's acting weird," the blonde noted and absently chewed on the edge of her cup, "He's going to talk to me too… something's fishy!" 

* * *

Raito wanted to talk to L for one reason: they needed to chat with Misa soon before he was too drunk to do so.

Truth be told, he might've already been too late.

The bathroom door was indeed shut and the light inside was on. Looking around, he saw there wasn't anyone anywhere else upstairs so L had to have been in the closed room. He didn't hesitate to knock and call in, "Hey, L! It's me, hurry up."

There wasn't a response, but he could clearly hear movement going on from the inside.

"You all right?" He tried again, pounding once more.

No answer.

His hands wrapped around the brass door knob and, once he felt it was unlocked, announced, "I'm coming in!"

An almost hoarse voice called, "Wait!" but when he pulled open the door it was too late.

Raito could feel the color drain from his face the second he could see inside.

Matt was pinning L to the floor of the bathroom, looking up at him like he'd seen a ghost. Both were missing half their clothing with hands frozen down the front of each other's pants.

"Shit, Raito, don't tell Misa!" Matt scrambled to his feet and pulled up his jeans.

L took a deep breath and didn't move from his spot. Instead, he ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes, clearly this wasn't something he could talk his way out of. '_Sorry, I tripped and was almost on the way to falling on Matt's dick'_wasn't going to cut it.

"Misa, huh? You're worried about fuckin' _Misa?"_His voice was amazingly monotone.

"Ahh," he reached down to pull L up, but L refused to take his hand, "Yeah… I mean, I'd feel terrible about her finding out about this the second she got home! I swear this was an accident and has never happened before!"

"None of my business. Do what you want," Raito pushed the door open wide for Matt to scuttle off, "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from L."

He stared for a few more second at the man on the floor. He had never felt like more of a fucking idiot in his life. Once the other finally opened his eyes and looked at him, he felt like he was going to puke. He would have rushed to the toilet and spilled his guts if he could have spent another moment in there, but it hurt too much. It hurt way too fucking much.

He turned on his heels, and ignored the call of, "Wait!"

There was nothing to say. There was nothing he wanted to hear. He was too numb as he walked down the stairs and went right for the designated 'bar' area.

Raito couldn't take it. He didn't bother pouring a shot; he chugged directly from the bottle until every last drop was gone.

Sayu saw this, and rushed over to his side, trying to pull it away from him, but was much too late.

"Jesus, Raito! What are you doing? Are you trying to get alcohol poisoning?" She demanded, now insanely worried about the massive amount he'd had to drink.

"I need to talk to Misa," he announced, a face of pure disgust from the after taste of the whiskey in his mouth, fighting the urge once again to vomit.

"Are you sure you're in—"

"Sayu, I'm fine!" He snapped and tried to pull on a collected demeanor before searching the room and spotting her, "Just give me a second to talk to her. I'm going to settle this now."

She couldn't say another word before he stormed off, stalked over and grabbed their friend's wrist.

"Misa," Raito took in a lungful of air, "I need to talk to you now."

Caught off guard, she nodded and asked, "What is it?" while she was already being pulled away.

Her eyes found L walking down the stairs across the room, who looked confused and then almost startled when he saw Raito dragging her.

They ended up in a guest room and Raito slammed the door.

"Raito! You scared me! What's going on?" She repeated, noticing his grip on her wrist hadn't let up yet, "Is this about what L and you had to tell me? Should we get him?"

"No, this is between you and me," he wrapped his other hand around her other wrist, "And this is very serious. So let me get through all this before you say anything, all right?"

"You're worrying me…" and her face showed it, the alcohol in her system rendered any control she had over her expressions useless, "But ok…"

"L and I have been talking about this for a while, and it's been a long time coming. I regret not being with you, and I hate that I totally missed my chance. I wasn't ready when we were talking, and I can't get you out of my head. It kills me that you're with him and I don't think he could take care of you like I could, and he agrees. He knows that we were meant to be together and I can't hold back anymore," his hands moved from her wrists to cup the sides of her face.

The power of his words completely made her forget how they were slurred and she almost had to blink away tears that were threatening her eyes, "Raito… I don't know what to say! You know how much I loved you, but it might be too late now—"

"It's not too late," he slammed his lips onto hers without faltering, and in between kisses moaned, "L agrees, he's ok with this. He just wants you to be happy… God, I want you…"

"Raito!" She tried to protest, but she couldn't help herself the second his hot hands snuck under her shirt and made their way to the clasp of her bra, "Are you s-sure it's all right with him?"

"I promise," he kissed down her neck and hauled off her top and bra in one quick tug, "This is exactly what he wants."

Her struggles turned into whimpers as Raito flicked off the lights and pushed her down onto the bed. All he could think about in his spinning mind was revenge. If he could even cause L a second of pain it would be worth it, no matter what the price. His actions were completely justified and nothing could get in his way when his heart hurt so badly. And fucking Misa raw would be a good start.

End of part


	14. Chapter 14

Notes: Sorry this one took a hot second to get out! I'd love to know what you guys thought of this chapter, and where you think this might be going. Because it's not the end, promise :) OBVI thanks go to my Michelle, for betaing and supporting 3 Loves you.

White Lies

Part 14

When the morning came, Raito was ready to throw up instantly. Not only from the hangover and bubbling alcohol still in his system, but the fact that there was a warm body next to him. And the breasts against his arm told him it, unquestionably, wasn't L.

He sprung up from the bed and shamelessly sprinted to the bathroom. He could taste the pungent fluid in his mouth right before he made it to the toilet, and had to fling himself to avoid a mess.

He spilled his guts.

His head throbbed, his throat burned and his stomach was flipping, knotting, and turning on a constant loop.

He gasped to catch his breath and tried to block out the whine of "Raaaaaito! Are you OK?" coming from the biggest mistake of his life.

What was he thinking?

It was an action born out of bitter spite, rage, jealously, betrayal… the list went on and on and with every heave into the toilet, he felt like he was choking on the emotions even more than the bile.

"Raaaaito!"

"I'm fine! Give me a second!"

He didn't want only a second, he wanted a year. He wanted a decade to get away from what he had done and just crawl into a hole. He was beginning to feel pathetic when the window in the room looked pretty damn appealing.

Now if only he had the strength to get up from the floor…

After a few dry heaves, he decided the time had come and he hauled himself up to his feet. He flushed the toilet and attempted to slide the window up as silently as possible.

That was when Misa's whines started again, "Do you need me to get you something? Water? Crackers?"

"I just need a shower," Raito snapped and decided he didn't care if he dried up all of Japan, the noise of the water would definitely cover up the noise of his escape.

"Do you want me to join youuu?"

If he had anything left in his body he could have retched again.

"Thank you, I'm already in!" He tugged on the water nozzle and managed to boost the window the rest of the way up when he turned back.

With the little strength he had, he lifted himself to the sill and kicked his legs out. Thank god it was on the first story, or he might have broken a leg escaping. Although breaking a leg was a small price he'd gladly pay to avoid Misa.

He b-lined across the dewy grass for the sidewalk and just kept walking. L had driven, and although his walk was over an hour home, he needed it to clear his head.

Once the chilly wind hit him a few minutes later he groaned "fuck" out loud.

He'd left his coat in the bedroom.

Which his keys were in.

This meant he had no way back into his house, unless he physically broke in.

He had, like an idiot, given his spare key to L. He wanted to shout more curses but instead pulled his phone out of his pocket. Thank god he was obsessive about keeping his phone on him at all times, even when black-out drunk.

It rang so many times he was sure it was going to go to voicemail before a groggy Yagami answered the phone.

"Raito… why are you calling me?"

"I need a favor."

"Wait, where are you? L was looking for you. You totally disappeared! Did you two even tell Misa last night?"

"I… fucked up. I'll tell you later just… please, can you sneak into the guest room and grab my coat. I forgot it and my keys are in it."

"Why don't you come get it yourself?"

"What part of 'I'll tell you later' don't you get?"

"Someone's in a bitchy mood. OK, are you just going to wait outside the house like a creep and wait for me to walk it out to you?"

"Yes."

"God, you're weird. OK, just wait. Be a creep."

"Bye," Raito hung up and continued his journey back to the house he had tried so hard to bolt from. He hoped Misa had fallen back asleep, left to go home herself or even to search for him. Just as long as she didn't get a chance to talk to his sister.

He fought against the urge to vomit again, and scanned through his phone. He frowned, not a single call or text from L. Not that he expected it; he probably didn't have anything to say. But that didn't mean a small part of him hadn't hoped… Shit, now he was just as guilty as the other. He wasn't the bigger person; he had stooped to his level and had no advantage in the situation at all.

They'd both lost…

He gritted his teeth and stayed a block away with the house (specifically the front door) just within sight.

As the minutes passed, he became more and more doubtful his secret was still a secret.

Finally, the door opened and Sayu marched out, looking around hastily for him.

He took a few steps forward to catch her eye and upon making eye contact, surveyed the scene to see if anyone else was around before charging.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" She whispered harshly and took a half-second of Raito's silence to give her permission to continue, "Thanks to you, Matsuda has a broken door from Misa kicking it down, and a flooded bathroom floor from an overflowed tub! She was sitting on the ground in the pool of water crying hysterically and won't tell me what happened!"

He had no problem picturing the scene, he could have predicted those results if he had taken the time to think about it, but the one thing that stuck out in his mind was that Sayu didn't know. Misa was probably heartbroken, ashamed, or feeling straight-up used. More than likely, it was all three.

He was grateful Sayu wasn't holding his coat ransom for information, but snatched it out of her grasp before she even thought about the idea.

"I'll tell you later, you should probably get Misa home."

"Raito!" She screamed tactlessly as he turned to walk away, "You can't just leave like this!"

He didn't even glance back at her, "I need to be alone right now. Don't follow me."

He thanked god she didn't, even though she was shouting obscenities behind him. She knew better than to harass him when he was like this. Everyone did. There wasn't a more dangerous person to fuck with when they were moody, let alone straight-up enraged, and Sayu could feel that much coming from him. She had expected Misa to be upset with the news from last night, but this was something entirely different. This wasn't the way a girl should act, given that news, which made Sayu worry about what had really happened.

Raito felt oddly numb as he walked and barely remembered how long it took him to get home. All he knew was that the filthy, itchy disgust had led him right into a real shower.

He felt dirty.

He knew that it was his fault.

He wasn't the innocent youth who got raped when he took a wrong turn in a bad side of town. He was the idiot who made the worst choice of his life, and had no one to fault for his mistake but himself.

Although, L had given him that power to fuck up that badly.

He never would have thought about cheating on his boyfriend, but what he had seen in that bathroom...

He slammed both his palms to the tile wall, and his forehead followed with a loud thud. If he had the vigor, he would have continued slamming his head against the cold ceramic over and over, painfully aching to knock the brain cells from his head that held that picture…

_No one_ was supposed to hold L but _him._

_No one_ was supposed to touch L but _him._

_L_ wasn't supposed to want anyone but _him._

Thankfully, the hot water was streaming down his face, or else he might have had to try to make excuses for all the tears that started flowing from his eyes. He did have to tell himself the choked sobs that began were from the water that got into his mouth, and that being justified, he didn't hold back. 

* * *

Near wasn't one for digging into other people's personal problems. This is why he had tried for almost a full hour to ignore the phone that was sitting next to him that was the current definition of blowing up. He was irritated, because L wasn't answering it, and when he had yelled at him to, he was too busy in his room to give him more than a grunt. _This_ was why he had only originally flipped it on and cracked the pass code to turn it off. But when he saw the mass of texts and a few words that had caught him off guard he couldn't help the little tingle of curiosity he was usually good at muting.

L wasn't going to walk out anytime soon, and if he asked, he'd just say he was doing what he was supposed to be doing: shutting off his phone.

But he wasn't shutting off his phone. He was quickly scanning through things like messages from L's ex, or not quite yet...

_Hey..._

_I think I made a mistake. Please call me._

_I can understand why you're mad, if you're mad. I was drunk and I realize now that you're the one I'm in love with!_

Near frowned. This didn't make any sense.

And then there was one from Matt that confused him even more...

_Hey. I'm sorry about last night, I was really drunk and it was terrible timing. I hope Raito didn't tell Misa and get you in trouble. I'm guessing you are, since she left right after it happened._

With his eyebrows furrowed, a simple text from Sayu: _Hey. Call me _didn't help at all.

What had happened last night?

What surprised him the most was that there wasn't a single text from Raito, which Near could only assume should have been in the middle of it.

The small, almost nonexistent rebel in him wanted to text at least one of them back, if there was one thing he hated it was unsolved mysteries, and this was proving very, very intriguing.

Should he? Shouldn't he?

Before he could rationalize it one way or the other, his finger quickly glided across the touch screen to the person who he thought would cause the least amount of trouble: Matt.

He didn't even know L talked to Matt that much... so he replied carefully with:

_I'm not sure if she know. Do you know where she went?_

He waited and felt a little anxiety rise in his throat. Thank god the man replied quickly.

_I'm not sure. Maybe Raito took her home because she was upset. I hope not though, he was way too drunk to drive._

Matt sent another message almost immediately:

_I'm sorry if Misa broke up with you. This is probably a bad time, but whenever you're free I'd like to hang out sometime._

Near cocked his head to the side.

What the fuck was going on?

"Is there something on my phone you find interesting?" The voice of the raven haired man called in a dead-pan voice from behind him.

Near didn't care, the interest was killing him and he would do anything he could to bait him: "Yes. Misa made a mistake, loves you, Sayu needs you to call her and Matt's sorry if you're single and wants to hang out."

There was a bitter smile on the other's face, "Well that's nice. Thank you for being my personal secretary."

Without missing a beat, Near asked, "What did you do?"

"Something that needed to be done. For yours and my sake."

Near had a sneaking suspicion so asked, "Should I text Matt back that you won't be able to hang out?"

L nodded, "Feel free to deal with them all however you'd like. I'd rather not have to worry about it," and then walked out of the room, leaving his phone in what he mused were 'Near's capable hands.'

He really wasn't concerned anymore. 

* * *

"Raito!" There was a loud pounding on the front door, and the man could hear it from upstairs.

It was his sister, and he didn't care. All he cared about was the bed pressed against his back and the cigarette between his lips. He was breathing in the nicotine like water, which may or may not have been better than the alternative of alcohol. No, he'd decided he wasn't going to be drinking again for a long, long time and this time he actually meant it. There wasn't a thing to undo the damage that had been done, and even if there wasn't anything worth saving, that didn't mean he didn't want to get in the habit of preventing it.

He exhaled a deep, lungful of smoke and then got a shock when the door to his bedroom swung open.

"You need to answer your fucking door!"

"How'd you get in?" He didn't move from his spot on the mattress.

"I found a key in the dirt next to your doorstep."

"What?"

Of course. L must have dropped it off, and ran. That little fucker.

Raito quickly added, "I don't want to see you right now."

"Well, at least you're honest," she plucked the cigarette from his lips and killed it in the ash tray next to his bed, "But I don't care. It's been a week and no one is saying anything about what happened, but something obviously did. I'm sick of being left in the dark. Misa won't talk to anyone, you locked yourself in your room, and L's left Tokyo!"

"What?" Raito finally darted up.

"You didn't know? What kind of boyfriend are you?" Sayu looked at him wide-eyed.

That stabbed him right in the gut. The word 'boyfriend.' Some boyfriend. It was a joke that they hadn't even said a word to each other since that night, and now it was inevitably over.

He had just disappeared.

That must have been why L had dumped the key at the door. Who knows when it had been, Raito hadn't left his house since _that_ night. The fact that L didn't even want to see him again stung in a strange way. The fact that L had just… left.

"…Raito?"

He didn't respond, but he felt a hand on his shoulder and then after a pause, it pulled him into a hug. Sayu couldn't believe it, but the tears welling up in Raito's eyes were the most unnerving, heartbreaking thing she had ever seen. Even if she didn't even know that his heart was breaking in his chest all over again.

End of part


	15. Chapter 15

White Lies

Part 15

Raito paused right before he pulled the overflow of mail from his mailbox. This is what he got for waiting a few days. Pointless magazines, catalogues, junk mail, more junk mail and then finally the bill he had almost forgotten about: the first bill for his tuition. It wasn't late by any means, but he liked to take care of things promptly. Ironically, not only work but classes and after school activities had gotten the better of him, and made his house merely a place to collapse in once he finally returned home. He made sure his social life was nonexistent and focused on school. It took him a little while to get back into the swing of things, but rising back to 'perfect' was easily attainable.

He walked in, while he shuffled through the mail and set what was actually relevant to him back down on his dining room table. The rest went immediately into the trash. What a waste of paper.

It was a little after 10, and he groaned out loud when he received a text from Mello.

_I'm coming over with a couple people in 10! Time to loosen up, bro!_

Yes. It was Mello alone who was trying to resurrect some form of a social life. Maybe locking him out and pretending to be asleep would work…

He went to the door and tried to lock it and flip off all the lights, but almost on cue, Mello kicked the door open before he could turn the knob.

"I thought you said it'd be ten minutes before you got here," Raito attempted in vain to push against him, channeling all his strength and body weight to ram his shoulder into the door.

"Yeah, and then I thought you'd try to pull something like this! Hey, help me," he said to the person next to him.

A new surge of force knocked Raito back into the wall and four people, plus Mello, flooded the door. The new found 'host' rolled his eyes and just moved out of the way.

Mello made himself at home immediately, shoving a case of beer into the fridge and then tossed a fifth in the freezer. He turned around and announced, "You don't have school tomorrow, might as well hang out with me!"

_And a random group of people who could potentially wreck my house…_ Raito added silently.

Mello produced a chocolate bar and jeered his thumb to the group, "This is my friend Mikami, then you know Kristina and Suzi from work. Oh, and I don't even need to introduce this dumbass."

_Yes, _Raito thought, _Kristina with the huge boobs, and Suzi who still doesn't know how to ring up discounts on the register…_

Raito had never seen Mikami before, but he didn't mind the simple nod of a greeting, knowing the two girls (and Mello) were more than likely going to be obnoxious drunks, and the calm in the other man was promising.

And then of course there was Mello's _dumbass._

Who was probably one of the top ten people he didn't want to see now, or forever, really. Matt.

"Nice to see you guys," Raito tried to force a smile and remind himself that he couldn't be grouchy since they had already made their way inside, "And nice to meet you, Mikami."

"Mello told us that you'd been so busy with school, you haven't had any time to have fun!" Kristina cheered and latched onto Raito's arm, obviously already a little tipsy, "So we decided to bring the party to you!"

"How… thoughtful," he gave the girl a smile, and continued, "You can help yourself to any snacks in the cupboards, although I don't know how good of a selection there is. I haven't gone shopping in a while."

"I noticed you've lost a little weight!" The girl clinging to him playfully poked him in the side, "going to that university must be hard! That's why I wasn't really cut out for college…"

_Why doesn't that surprise me…_

"Yeah, I guess. When I'm busy that's the first thing I forget to do," Raito admitted and gestured forward, "You guys can go ahead into the living and put something on TV."

"Hell no, I brought Loaded Questions!" Mello reached into a paper bag that Raito had thought would be full of 40s, or something equally classy.

"The board game?" Raito wasn't impressed.

"Hell yeah! It's one of the best to turn into a drinking game!" He defended it, pulling it closely to his chest, "Who's ready!"

"Me!" The two girls applauded, and quickly snatched a beer before following their ringleader into the living room.

"I need a smoke first, go ahead and set up," Raito was glad to have the leech off his arm, but things got worse when he heard:

"I'll come with you!"

"OK, Matt." What could Raito say?

He grabbed his cigarettes and made his way to the back porch, Matt following close behind. His new guest was the first to light his, and helpfully handed Raito his lighter. There was an awkward silence as they took a few drags, looking out into the night sky. In a way, Raito knew he couldn't blame Matt, he, and the rest of the world, didn't really know him and L were ever together. But seeing his face just reminded him of the one night he was trying to forget. It had been working, until just then.

"You really haven't been out with us in a while," Matt tried to make a conversation, "But like Mello said, I'm sure you're just busy."

"Yeah," he echoed, "Very busy. But school's something that I've been meaning to do for a while, and thought I should get back into it before I wasted my life working in retail."

"You've always been so smart, I should have known you'd be going ahead into criminal justice."

"You've always been smart too, Matt, what are you doing these days?" Raito tried to bury his internal hatchet.

"Not much. Work. Not in retail, though," He flashed some teeth in a wide grin, "Although you'd think I am, with how much I hang out with Mello at your store."

Now that he mentioned it, Mello and Matt had gotten pretty close lately. But he'd been 'hanging around the store' those mornings that Mello worked and he had class. Thank god he hadn't had to deal with the man until right now, if he had to see him at work every day he might just quit.

"Yeah. It's good Mello has someone to bother without me there," Raito mumbled.

"I don't mind," Matt's smile made Raito raise an eyebrow.

"Really? Because Mello's pretty fucking annoying." Raito finished his first cigarette, said fuck it, and pulled out another. Lung cancer was the last thing on his mind right now, he was just trying to calm down and this just so happened to be the only way he knew how to do it.

"It's weird, I'm not even going to lie, I really like Mello."

_Slut. Stay away from my friends._ Raito mind spat without even trying to be rational. He couldn't even stop himself:

"What happened with L that night?"

Matt blushed, "Well, I don't really know."

"It _looked_ like you knew what you were doing before I walked in."

"I feel terrible. I only talked to L once about it after, and then he just left. It was randomly, I'd only hung out with him once before then, and that was way before he started dating Misa. I guess in a way I was a little jealous because I had this weird crush on him ever since then… and I think it was just because we were both drunk and before I knew what I was doing, I just kissed him."

There were quite a few things running through Raito's mind at that moment, as he took a deep breath of smoke in. They hadn't been in contact since before _Raito_ was even talking to L. It had been spur of the drunken moment. Matt had been the one to start it. But more than anything, one sentence pissed him off.

L had talked to him after it happened. And not once, had L tried to get into contact with Raito.

"Do you know where he went?" Raito asked lamely.

"No idea. The only thing he said to me after that is if I knew where Misa went. When I said I didn't know, he never texted back again. I haven't even seen Misa since that night, I guess I really, really fucked things up."

"Obviously," Raito couldn't stop himself from throwing that in.

When Matt gave him a defeated look, Raito continued, "If you're really into Mello that much, you better watch what you do. To him, and those around him."

"I know, I know." Matt flicked the dead cigarette into the yard, "I'm going to try. We just do the dumbest fucking things when we're drunk, you know?"

"Yes. I do."

"Well, we should go inside!" Matt stood up and brushed off his pants, "Mello's dying to get trashed and play this game."

"Mello's a piece of work," Raito shook his head, "I guess this will be interesting."

When they walked back in, Matt opened the fridge and pulled out two beers, offering one to Raito. The man hesitated and stared at it. Matt laughed and assured him, "I don't think there are many ways either of us could fuck up tonight. Let's just drink and relax."

Finally, Raito decided to take it. The words he spoke were truth. Even if there were bad choices to be made, Mello was the one person he trusted to keep him out of trouble_. Fuck it_, Raito thought, _I really do need to relax. It's been too long._

"You're the purple piece, my little homo!" Mello cheered as Raito sat down on one end of the couch.

"How thoughtful. I think I'm over that phase, Mel."

"Aww," he pouted, "I thought once you sucked cock, you don't go back."

Raito smacked Mello upside the head, "Watch yourself."

He cackled and, after rolling the dice read out loud from a card, "_What one object in your home are you most embarrassed about owning? _Now you have to write down your answer to how I would respond, and if I guess who said what, you drink a shot! If I don't get any, I'll take a shot!"

"Shots already?" Suzi sighed, "Can't we just do beer?"

"First 10 questions, we do liquor!" He cheered.

"This is going to be an interesting game."  
**  
****-******

_Sayu! Raito's being social; get your ass over here!_

_On my way!_

_You bringing Matsuda?_

_Of course. He's been boring lately too. This will be fun!_

_Oh. We're out of beer, can you bring a few cases?_

_This is the only reason you texted me, isn't it, fucker?_

_No…. maaaaaybe… just a little…._

_Are you already drunk?_

_No….. maaaaayyybeeee… just a little._

_You're lucky I miss my brother._

_Heheheheehehe see you soonnnn_

_-_

"We're here!" Sayu called, and hauled in the second group of the night to kick Raito's door down. "We brought presents!"

"Yay!" The girls, plus Mello, cheered and ran up to the door like little puppies greeting their master, who just so happened to have a surplus of beer between her, her boyfriend and two bottles more they brought.

"What's this?" Matsuda peered around the corner to see the three men in the living room lounging with scattered beer cans, shot glasses and sheets of paper covered in scribbles. He picked up one of the papers and read it out loud, "Dildos, flying goat-men, a trannie from Iceland, reverse cowgirl, peanut butter blowjob, Davey Havok. What the hell is this? I thought this was a nice, family game."

"Not when there's booze involved!" Matt cheered.

Sayu giggled and scooted over to the circle quickly, "I'm excited! Matsuda, get your ass in here!"

"I'm scared…" He cautiously sat down.

"Your buy-in to the game is two shots. You need to catch up." Raito grinned, which made Sayu happy.

He really _was_ being social. There was finally hope for him!

"What's this shit playing in the background? I feel like I'm at an Irish pub." Sayu walked over to grab the rum, and pulled from the bottle, before handing it to her boyfriend.

"Obviously it's Mumford and Sons. If you don't like it, you can suck my dick!" Mello slurred and threw his head back onto the couch behind him, where Matt's lap just happened to be. He winked to the man above him, and got a small blush in return.

"Eww, I think I'd get herpes from that. I think I'll pass," she made a face, from both the thought of Mello's dick, and the bitter taste of the alcohol, "Oh hey, who are your friends? Sorry about Mello being rude and not introducing us."

"Oh. These hoes are Kristina and Suzi. This other hoe, who needs to drink way more, is Mikami!"

The man laughed, "It's not my fault I'm winning the game."

"I'm making a new rule!" Mello announced, and stood up, only to stumble a little bit and have Matt help prop him up, "The winner has to shotgun three beers in a row!"

"That's totally a double edged sword," Raito muttered, "If you try to lose, you're going to drink more than that, but if you win, you're guaranteed to puke, asshole."

"That's the point!"

"I knew I liked you for some reason, blondie," Sayu shook him back and forth for a second before sharing a chair with Matsuda, making Raito want to puke all over again. He loved his sister, and her boyfriend, but they were taking this lovey-dovey shit to a new level.

"I'm sure I'll be able to handle it, thanks for worrying about me, though," Mikami smirked at the man next to him.

Raito chuckled, "Just making sure you don't get caught up in one of his terrible ideas. Although…" he paused to think, "I'm pretty sure since you're friends with Mello, you know that all of his ideas are terrible."

"Of course."

"Hey! I'm sitting right here!"

"You mean nuzzling against Matt?" Sayu stuck out her tongue.

"Yagami! Both of you! Matsuda and Mikami, take another shot! You guys aren't nearly intoxicated enough!" He growled out his order.

All of them shrugged and headed to the kitchen table where all the bottles were.

"Chug and pass?" Matsuda suggested, picking up the bottle.

"Eww it's like I'm kissing my brother."

"Alcohol kills germs," Mikami pointed out, "Why don't you start us off?"

"I like you already. Watch out, Mello, I might have a new friend that isn't you!" She raised her voice, and then the bottle.

"Fuck off!" He yelled back, and watched as the bottle went to Matsuda, then Mikami and then a particularly long chug from Raito.

"It's a lie!" Raito laughed out loud, patting Mikami on the back, "Sayu doesn't like anyone, don't fall for it."

He gave him an amused smile and then took the bottle back once again. "Thank you for the warning, Raito," he took an equally long drink.

"That's more like it!" Kristina clapped her hands together, then picked her beer back up, "Let's finish this!"

"While you fill Matsuda and Sayu in, I'm gonna go outside." Raito gave a small wave.

"Hey! Are you still smoking like a chimney?" Sayu scolded her brother.

"Maybe. I'm gonna get some fresh air and kill this bottle!" Raito scooped it up off the table and locked eyes with the dark-haired man, "Mikami, you wanna come? After all, we are some of the ones who need to 'catch up.'"

"Ahh of course, we all need to please Mello, after all. But, yes, I'd love to." Mikami did something that was surprising as they were walking out the door, and that was pulling out a pack of his own cigarettes.

Once they were out on the porch and the door was shut, Raito sparked up a conversation, "So how do you know Mello?"

"That's a good question. We go way back, and I just moved into town again a few weeks ago, so we were able to reconnect. After I graduated from a university around here, I went away for grad school and just finished up. I decided I like this city a lot," he gestured to the bottle, and once Raito nodded, he picked it up and tipped it back again, "I think you're going to where I got my undergrad, actually. Do you like it?"

"Yes, I do. Now that I'm about to start the classes for my major I am. All the gen ed's were under stimulating, I'm excited to move on."

"That's to be expected. But I've never heard of anyone calling To-oh's gen ed's under stimulating. You're intriguing, Raito." He offered the bottle over and changed his focus to his cigarette, although he would frequently steal glances at the younger man.

"Not too intriguing," Raito admitted. "Wow, I think I just started feeling this," an uncharacteristic giggle escaped Raito's throat.

"Let's finish this, and let Mello know of his victory. He doesn't get to celebrate those very often," a smirk covered the man's face.

"True!" Raito blew out a cloud of smoke before killing the cigarette on the rail of the porch. He eyed the nearly-empty bottle. He shrugged and tossed the last bit of it back, slamming the now finished fifth carelessly onto the railing. The second after he didn't that, he felt himself slowly moving to the railing as well.

He looked up to see a pair of golden eyes locked onto his. Raito's butt bumped against the wood as Mikami put both hands on either side of him and leaned in. He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the fact that he had been starved of human contact, but Raito closed his eyes as the other's soft lips pressed against his. There wasn't anything sloppy about it; it was innocent and almost charming. That was, until Raito wrapped his arms around the other man's neck and entangled his fingers in Mikami's hair, pulling them even closer together and deepening the kiss.

Their mouth's meshed roughly and breath began running away from them as Mikami's own arms migrated and wrapped around the slightly shorter man's waist. Chills ran through Raito's body, carried by the alcohol in his blood which died down a little when the other pulled away.

"Sorry," he mumbled a little breathlessly, "I just… wanted to kiss you."

"It's fine," Raito shrugged, but then froze in his place as a different type of feeling hit him.

The strongest déjà vu he'd ever experienced.

And he knew what would come next, if his memory served him right. But before anything else could be said, Raito turned his back and called, "We better get inside before we're yelled at by the princess."

Mikami didn't seem fazed, he just laughed, "Sounds good."

Raito's steps faltered as a scene from months ago played back in his head, on the same porch in nearly the same circumstances:

_"I just wanted to kiss you," Raito threw out. "I wasn't being a creep, it was just an urge."_

_L blinked, "It's fine."_

_He smiled back and plainly said, "I might want to kiss you again."_

Raito swallowed hard. That wasn't going to happen for a second time, because no matter what happened, he wouldn't let anyone back into his heart again. Especially someone that wasn't L. God, he wished he could move on. Maybe there was a chance. When they sat down again and hopped back into the game, Raito couldn't help but steal glances at the other man. He had to admit, he liked the way his lips felt, and the fearless arms around his waist, pulling their bodies together...

He blushed. He couldn't think like that, he was too conflicted. And here he thought there wouldn't be any bad _or_ good choices to be made tonight. This was an interesting turn of events.

End of part


	16. Chapter 16

White Lies

Part 16

"Raaaaaito!" Sayu called and pulled her brother past the kitchen into the stairways by the collar of his shirt.

Both of them were stumbling a little, and Raito had to grab at the railing to keep his feet under him and the younger girl from pushing him over.

"What?" His reply was quick, and he was trying to figure out if she was going to try to force him into another shot, or it was something completely different.

She winked and tapped a hand on his shoulder, getting right to the point, "Sooo Mikami's cute. And you can't stop looking at him. What's going on theeere?"

He almost blushed. _Almost._

"Nothing. I just met him tonight! Butt out, Sayu."

"Nope, nope. There's definitely _something._ You need to get out there! Since I know you're probably not going back to girls, why don't you get on that? He looks like he'd be a good lay!"

"What kind of sister tells her brother that?" He hissed, and narrowed his eyes, "You're fucked up."

"Pssh," she shooed him, "Someone needs to get you back in the game. I say go for it! He's already here, no need to lure him back to your house. Do I need to talk to him too?"

Raito clamped his hand over her mouth, "Lower your voice, you're practically yelling. And don't you dare!"

He felt her smirk grow even more under his palm, and when he released her, she giggled and said, "If you don't do something, I will!" She was practically begging him to get a rebound.

"Sayu! Don't you dare!" He hissed again and took off after her when she skipped away.

This was not good. Apparently, he needed to make it look as though he was making an effort or else the young girl would meddle and take things into her own hands. This was something she was able to do flawlessly. So he ran, and cut her off when they were back into the living room.

Everyone's drunken behavior had taken a turn… well, for the drunker.

The two girls were passed out, one half-on and half-off a chair and the other with her ass in the air on the floor. Mello and Matt were deep in 'conversation,' in each other's laps, and thankfully, Mikami was pouring himself another drink, talking with Matsuda who was flushed with that nice, sloppy pink. Raito hoped he didn't look like as much of a mess as the others did.

Sayu hopped right up to stand next to her boyfriend who was, unfortunately, right next to the man she planned on harassing. Raito had to think fast and so he quickly asked, "Can I have a sip of that?" and then scolded himself for falling right into the girl's plans.

The dark-haired man nodded and handed it over, "Not thinking of stopping anytime soon?"

"Not yet," he took a chug and handed it back, sending a death glare over to the girl contently smirking at him. "It's been a while since I got to relax with friends like this."

"Wellll I think we're about to go! Looks like everyone else is going to be calling it a night soon anyway," Sayu grabbed Matsuda's arm and grabbed her purse, "It's a nice night for a walk home, don't you think?"

"Yes, well, it was good to see you, Raito. We'll have to do it again sometime," he pulled the older Yagami into a huge, intoxicated hug and then grabbed his own jacket. "Enjoy your night!"

"Oh, I know he will!" Sayu cackled.

Raito's eye twitched as he watched them head for the door, "Don't get hit by any cars now."

"Oh, we won't!"

Then, they were gone. Raito turned around to see Mikami chuckling at his sister's antics.

"Well," Raito started, "I'm sorry about Mello being up on Matt right now. You're welcome to stay here tonight, since I think it's obvious everyone's going to pass out soon anyway."

"I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, and it looks pretty packed."

"No, it wouldn't be an inconvenience at all!" Raito even surprised himself at the directness. After all, wasn't he mad he had all these people at his house in the first place? Wouldn't one leaving actually help him out? Why was he saying this?

"That's good to hear. But don't know if I feel up to sleeping on the floor, I got my fair share of that in from my undergrad years," he laughed, and Raito's directness went into overdrive.

He reached out and grabbed Mikami's wrist, thinking the man was going to run away that second. He knew he needed to get out of this mental block, this state of mind, this fucking _rut._

"I've got a nice bed, and I don't mind sharing," Raito was surprising himself every second. But then he had to remind himself, he wasn't a timid little girl. He shouldn't be shy or afraid to get back to being himself, and being confident.

If there was one thing Yagami Raito was, it was confident.

There was a pause before Mikami closed the gap between the two of them and grabbed Raito's face for a kiss.

"I wouldn't mind at all," he said as Raito pulled away to look at the group in the living room.

Mello and Matt were still in deep discussion, but now Mello was actually, physically _laying_ on Matt. Raito guessed one of them tipped over, because now both of the girls were on the floor. Sometimes he wondered why he was friends with these people.

"Wanna go now?" Raito turned the grip on Mikami's wrist to lace his fingers with the other man's.

The sly smile was practically begging the older man to follow.

And so he did.

In a matter of seconds, they were upstairs in his bedroom, closing the door.

Raito couldn't care less about the thoughts of the delinquents down stairs tearing his house apart, because his mouth and limbs were so entangled in the other man.

He couldn't lie either, the spinning intensified around him as he was pushed to his bed. His eyes narrowed in the dark room, trying to regain the blurred vision around him as a hot mouth nipped at his neck. He didn't like feeling out of control… and as the mouth trailed lower, he said fuck it and just let himself become consumed by the mindless, coherent-less lust.

Hopefully he didn't regret _this one_ in the morning.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Mello looked around to notice the only two still conscious in the room were him and Matt. Two things made him smile. The fact that Raito was with Mikami, and there was a very hot boy in his lap. He didn't wait a moment longer; the situation was too damn tempting. He couldn't let Raito have all the fun, after all, and he couldn't deny the sexual tension between himself and Matt either.

"Let's play another game," he suggested with a smirk.

The other raised an eyebrow, a drunken pause hitting him before returning, "OK. What kind of game?"

"Truth or dare."

He grinned widely before nodding.

"Here are the rules, you pick truth or dare and if you don't do it or answer it, you take a shot."

"You want us to die of alcohol poisoning tonight, or what?" Matt teased.

"I like living on the edge… and if you have the balls, you won't have to drink anything," he winked and gestured to the bottle on the counter, "Or if you're a baby there's some rum left."

"I'm not a baby. Try me!"

"Truth or dare."

Matt swallowed, a little more nervous than he thought he was going to be. Everyone knew Mello's devious personality. Why not just go for it?

"Dare."

Without missing a beat, he ordered, "Kiss me."

"Hah. Didn't see that one coming, or anything." Matt leaned in and gave him a quick smack on the lips.

"Hey! That doesn't count!"

Matt stuck out his tongue, "You never specified."

"You little unromantic shit." He griped and decided to do the work on his own, kissing the other as heated as he originally anticipated.

He giggled into the kiss, "You horny fuck."

Mello pushed Matt down onto the couch and sneered, "You're the one who does that to me…"

"Heeeey… where's some water…?" A girl from the floor slurred and struggled to sit up.

Mello and Matt had their own struggle to quickly, and nonchalantly get off each other. Mello cleared his throat, stumbled up and tried to hurry out of the room before anyone could see the tent in his pants, "I'll get you a glass. Just try not to puke until then."

"Ahhkaay…" she returned to the ground, her back hitting with a thud and, on cue, covered her mouth.

"Woah, woah, woah Suzi!" He scuttled to the floor to grab, and practically carried the girl to the bathroom, "Just hold it in two more second, Raito would kill us!"

She whimpered, and both men thanked god they heard the water of the toilet splash when she finally spewed. That was a close one.

Matt pulled back her hair and breathed a sigh of relief. It was amazing how sober you suddenly became when an adrenaline rush and responsibility hits you.

Mello pushed the door to look in, glass of water in his hand and commented, "There's my classy lady, doin' work."

"Screw… you…" she got out in-between heaves.

"Like I said, my classy lady," Mello sat the cup down on the sink next to the girl and grabbed the hair tie around her wrist to tie it back, "Now we're going to step out so you can get yourself back together."

Matt looked to Mello for permission, and his answer was a push on the back into the living room once again.

"I wonder if Raito is spewing his guts too," Mello mused aloud as he went back to the bottle, in terrible judgment.

"Maybe Mikami's taking care of him. I didn't know Raito even liked guys. I don't think I've ever seen him with anyone, ever," the brunette mused.

Mello shook his head and said, "Yeah, he's been a raging homo for a while. But I was wondering if he was going to go back to girls after what happened. I'm just glad he's finally getting over all that shit, he needs to get his ass back in the game after what happened."

Matt raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what happened?"

"You know. His dumb-fuck boyfriend skipping town and leaving him without saying anything. He didn't want to admit it or anything, but Raito was completely devastated. I've never been more worried about him in my life," Mello didn't mean for the conversation to turn so serious, but when it came to his best friend and his sanity, he couldn't keep it to himself.

"I didn't know he was dating anyone," Matt was silent for a second. "Who was it?"

"I'm surprised you didn't know. They were pretty bad at keeping it a secret. You know. That fucker, L."

Mello was immediately concerned when Matt's face paled to a sickly white.

"Wait, you gonna puke too?" He grabbed his arm, "If Suzi's not done, you can puke in the sink!"

"No," Matt jerked out of his grasp. "I don't… even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Mello calmed down and picked the bottle up to 'settle his stomach.' "I know it's weird that Raito fell for him. But in a way, I knew it would happen like this. L was shady as shit."

Before he could do anything, Matt spilled out, "Raito walked in on L and I the night of Misa's party… I told him not to tell anyone, because it would upset Misa, I knew I was wrong, but I had no fucking idea—"

"He _what!"_ Mello choked on the shot, "What the fuck, you and L?"

"I was drunk! I didn't know what I was doing! He _told_ me he wasn't with Misa anymore! He didn't tell me about Raito!" Matt blabbed on, "I had no idea, Raito was so pissed, and I didn't know why. How did I miss that?"

"If you weren't my friend, and I didn't like you so much, I'm pretty sure I'd punch you right now," Mello grit his teeth, "So that's what happened. He **cheated** on him _and_ left. I'd kill L, if I could."

Matt opened his mouth and tried to speak a few times, but nothing came out.

Only, "Shit. I think I _might_ just puke."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

The sun hurt Raito's eyes, even from under his eyelids. He pulled the covers over him and tried to gauge what on him hurt. The conclusion was his head, his stomach, and a vague, all-over aching pain.

_Fuck._

Once a realization hit him, he threw back the covers and looked around his room.

But no one was there.

Confusion set in when he questioned his memory. Once he looked down and realized he was naked, the truth he thought he knew was confirmed. Raito fell back onto the mattress and just let his brain roam free for a second. He wasn't sure how he was feeling. Obviously he had been drunk, but he wasn't mad about what happened. Both of them were single, both of them were willing, yet Raito didn't find himself overly-attracted to the man.

He felt a little guilty, because he was using him to get over L.

It wasn't like Mikami was in love with him. It's not like there couldn't be _something_ there. For god sakes, they'd only known each other for a night. You couldn't draw _any_ conclusions from one night.

Raito scoffed. Well… besides the part that he had left right away.

The man rolled over, and noticed a note sitting on his nightstand. He snatched it up and read the words:

_I enjoyed last night, hope you're feeling all right. I'd love to see you again._

Raito flipped the card over, and then realized it was a business card, with his name, title and work information, and then a scribbled cell phone number at the bottom.

He took in a deep breath and set it back down quietly.

He listened to see if he could hear any of his friends wandering around the house. He noted his clock read 11:30, so he had hoped they were long gone too. Turning off his brain, and focusing on listening even harder, he jerked when his phone began to vibrate.

Raito grabbed it, and saw the text from an unknown number reading: _Hello._

He smiled a little, Mikami must have gotten his number from Sayu, maybe unsure if Raito would even text him back and making sure that didn't happen. Raito texted back:

_Hey. I had fun last night too. We could hang out again after I get out of work tomorrow, if you'd like._

Raito decided he wanted to give this a shot, see if it was something he could work out. Mikami was nice enough, intelligent enough, and attractive enough, there was no reason for Raito to blow it off too soon.

Raito had set the phone on his stomach, and it almost tickled the next time it vibrated.

_You must have me mistaken for someone else. This is L, I got a new number and there are a few things I left at your house and forgot to retrieve. I'm outside right now._

Raito's body froze, and his mind went completely numb the second he finished reading the text. The only thought he could repeat in his head was: _this isn't happening._

He darted to his feet and threw open the blinds, ignoring his sensitivity due to the hangover.

His body locked, and couldn't even flinch when he saw the man walking up to the door, looking down at his cell phone awaiting Raito's response.

_This isn't happening._

-

End of part


	17. Chapter 17

Notes: I'm so glad you guys keep reading even though there are pretty big gaps between updates.. . Thank you for sticking with me! For a second I thought I knew how to wrap it up but then I decided to add Mikami into the story, which might stretch it out a little bit longer. Hope you don't mind haha 3

White Lies

Chapter 17

Raito watched every move, every languid stride the man he never wanted to see again made. He felt the cell phone slipping from his hand as he stared off, and had to catch it before it hit the floor. What the fuck was he supposed to do? Could he bluff and say he wasn't at the house?

He failed miserably when he saw L look up and catch sight of him. The blinds were lucky not to be ripped off by the amount of force he had used to shut them.

"Fuck. Fuck." He paced back and forth.

There was only one thing he could say to try to get the man to leave:

_I threw all your shit out. Sorry._

A lie. He couldn't bring himself to do it, so he stashed it in the farthest reach of a crowded closet.

_I think there's something that you missed._

Probably not.

Raito-kun. I'd like it if you just opened the door, I'm getting bored out here.

Please leave.

I wanted you to let me in on your own accord, but I'm afraid I'm serious about retrieving my things. Hope you don't mind.

Raito flinched as he heard the door open from downstairs, and scrambled to find a pair of pants on the ground. He stormed to the stairway.

"You can't just let yourself in!" He shouted, but hesitated to march down the stairs.

There was an impish smile on the dark haired man's face, "If I recall _you_ were the one to give me an extra key." He gave his ex-lover a good look up and down, "Have a good night last night, Raito-kun?"

Raito glanced at his bare chest and saw a hickey or two he hadn't noticed earlier. Why should he be embarrassed? He felt ashamed, regardless.

"I don't think that's any of your business."

L shrugged his shoulders and strolled in further, "I hope you don't mind if I grab my things now. They're rather important."

"And you waited this long to come get them?"

"I'm afraid I didn't have a mode of transportation to do so. Near, myself and our 'guardian' had to leave rather abruptly and I didn't have much of a choice." L turned a corner and reached into an unused cabinet, reaching and grabbing something he had.. . Taped?.. To the back of it. "I'll be going now."

"Why are you hiding things in my house? Especially a cell phone? Didn't you think I'd find that if it rang?"

"But it didn't, and you missed it completely," he flipped the screen open and continued, "Besides, this is only a cell phone Near and Watari can reach me on. And since the only reason they needed me is for the move, I didn't figure it would be a problem. But now, seeing as how I decided to come back without their permission, I didn't want Raito to be bothered by probable insistent calls."

Raito just stared blankly. He was confused, was this man in a mafia? He was much sneakier than he originally thought. And all of these almost-explanations made no sense. .. But one thing did stick out in his mind.

"You moved back?"

"Aa, yes." He scrolled through something on the phone and hit a few buttons, "I didn't want to leave in the first place, I had grown quite fond of my situation here. But I never really have a choice in the matter because of our… _work_. Now I'm going to be waiting a little while for the situation to blow over. Although I came here to apologize also, it would appear that Raito-kun has already moved on."

"Apologize?" Raito repeated, "You think that's really all it would take?"

L blinked a few times with those huge, owlish eyes, "Well, I thought it would be a start. I'd like to explain my situation, but for Raito-kun's own good, I don't think that would be possible."

The other man couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the phone out of L's hand, and threw it as hard as he could against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

L stared for a moment, his hand not leaving the position it was in when he was holding the phone, but then shrugged, "I guess you took care of that for me."

"Get out."

Even L was a bit taken aback by the low, fury in his voice, "Well. I guess I don't have much business left here." He dug his hands in his pockets and turned around.

Raito glared daggers at the man's back, quite tempted to shove him out himself. 

L paused when he reached the door but didn't turn around, "I am quite sorry. Things didn't turn out the way I planned and I regret hurting Raito-kun. I hope things turn out well with your new love interest."

Raito didn't even have to shout the order again, because the door was already closed.

He stood there, fist clenched, and let his eyes drift to the broken phone on the floor. What kind of psycho deliberately hid a phone in their boyfriends house that only family could call? Who had more than two phones to begin with? His bare feet made their way over to the demolished hunk of plastic and crouched down. What was important enough about this that he came back for it?

This was the last thing he needed this morning. It really shook his world.

What would he do?

Now that he knew L was back, and so close?

It killed him inside, all the torn up feelings bubbled back to the surface the moment he had gotten the text, and then erupted when he saw the man's face.

He ran a hand through his hair and just stayed there for a moment.

It was going to take all day to gather himself back together. Maybe work would help, though.

Maybe.

I- - - - - - -I

"Fuuuuuck!" Mello complained loudly and let his head fall to the countertop at the register. "I'm never drinking again!"

"Shut up." Raito ordered and was relieve to see no one was in the store at that point and time, "You brought it upon yourself."

"You did too. You look like shit, and pissed. Did Mikami get whiskey dick, or something?" Mello sneered.

"You seriously need to shut the fuck up."

Mello was surprised at the venom in Raito's voice. Maybe he hit a sore spot? But a little red mark peeking out below the collar of Raito's shirt told him differently. So many things happened last night.. . And Mello felt like an ass for being with Matt, not knowing what happened. But as long as Raito got some at the end of the night it didn't matter. .. Did it? Last night, and this morning already, was a mess.

"Hey, whatcha doing tonight? You seeing that new boy again anytime soon?" Mello called across the store.

"Shut up."

"Damn," Mello glared. "What's up your ass, seriously?"

Raito didn't even give him an answer. Work wasn't helping at all, his mind was still stuck on L. There was only one thing he could think about to make this go away, even if it was a shady choice.

He texted Mikami.

"Excuse me? Excuse me?"

"Mello, I'm fuckin' sick of this!" Raito yelled and turned around, only to be face to face with a horrified customer, "Oh. I apologize, is there something I can help you with?" 

The customer turned on his heels and bolted out of the store, yelling back, "You need to see a therapist!"

Raito exhaled deeply, and tried to ignore Mello's muffled laughter. Fuck today.

I- - - - - - -I

Raito kicked off his shoes when he walked in the doorway and walked to the fridge to grab something to eat before his guest would come over. He was desperately seeking a distraction, and he knew he was deliberately using the man, without a shadow of a doubt. He almost reminded himself of L. _Almost._

He heard a crunch under his foot, and looked down to the cell phone he hadn't even bothered to clean up.

Then another thing caught his eye.

A memory card, completely unscathed.

He picked up the pieces of the phone that weren't trashed and carried them over to his laptop.

Maybe he could find something about what was so fucking important to L that he had to leave, since it turned out it wasn't only Raito himself.

Another thing going against his morals?

He didn't give a flying fuck.

I- - - - - - -I

Sayu admitted it was lonely going on shopping trips by herself without Misa ever since she left for the states. Finding a cute dress was easy enough, but the silence while going through racks and the positive affirmations about her choices were missed. Which was why she kept her phone on her and texting Matsuda and a new friend she met the previous night from Raito and Mello's work.

She pulled out a high-waisted skirt and held it up next to the royal blue top she was considering. She tried to hang both from one arm when her phone vibrated, but before she could she caught sight of something. And dropped her phone.

She scrambled to pick it back up, threw the clothes on the rack and chase after someone she couldn't believe was there.

When she rounded the isle, she didn't care if she yelled.

"L!"

She had half-hoped to be seeing things. But as the man stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Hello, Sayu. I hope you've been well." He didn't step towards her, but that didn't keep her from charging him.

"Hello? Hello? That's all you've got?"

"Would you like to go some place to catch up? I don't know if this is the proper place to chat in this situation." L was very calm as the girl's glare seared into him. And he'd had to deal with the fury of _two_ Yagami's today. .. This time he might not have been able to get out alive.

Sayu marched forward, grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him. Where to, even she wasn't sure. So when she ended up throwing him into a family bathroom stall, both of them were surprised.

"I hope you'll go easy on me," L put both his hands in front of him in an attempt to protect himself in the case any punches were thrown. If there was someone who actually would try to kick his ass, it was this girl.

"Why are you here?" She growled.

"I was here to buy some dishes, seeing as how I just moved into a home by myself and don't have many of the necessities that come with living with a brother."

"No! Why are you _back here_?" She tried to lower her volume a little bit.

"I decided that moving was a mistake, so I came back." L's voice was more monotone than Sayu could stand.

She hesitated for a second.

"Does Raito know you're here?"

"Yes," L said simply. "I paid him a visit a few hours ago. He had about the same reaction as you, unfortunately."

"Stay away from him," she ordered, dangerous tones melting into her voice, "You're the last thing he needs right now, he just started getting his life back together. He doesn't need you, or your drama. He's going to school, making good money, and he even has a boyfriend, so don't you fuck that up!" So the boyfriend part might have been a bluff, but she was just making the point clear.

"I. .." he faltered for a split second, "Don't want to cause Raito-kun anymore trouble. That was never my intention in the first place."

"Well, you sure fucked that one up." She turned away from him to grab the door handle, "Don't let me see you again."

"Aa, I will do my best to hide. But.. ."

Sayu turned around and glared, "What?"

"I still need to go back to that store to get my dishes. .. So perhaps you'll be able to wait a little while before going back in order to avoid me?" He cocked his head to the side while giving the suggestion.

Sayu gritted her teeth, "I'm leaving!"

"Have a good evening."

I- - - - - - -I

Raito sat in the glow of his laptop with his head hung and resting in his hands. It had taken him a good hour to get some of the data up and running, and then to get past strange code before even getting into the memory chip. It was a huge task, and now he sat numbly in the wood chair.

He found some interesting things, mostly between this 'father' of L's, Watari, and the man himself.

Interesting things that he hadn't expected.

Like Watari ordering him to break off all connections here because they were leaving.

There were also threats.

Pretty serious threats.

Was that why L had done that? Was it some kind of protection? To put a clear end to everything?

Raito himself, and the choices he had made, must have helped that a lot.

L hadn't wanted to take those measures, but by the growing intensity of the communications he had. .. No choice.

"Fuck." Raito slammed his fists down on the table on either side of his laptop.

This was obviously the only way it could have happened. Raito wouldn't have taken any other excuse to let him leave. L was smart. He knew how to cut Raito deeply, and sever his feelings.

But now that Raito knew this?

Now that the damage had been done?

He snapped out of his daze when he heard a knock at the door. He had completely lost track of time and how was when he was anxiously expecting Mikami.

Only he wasn't as anxious anymore. Now he had a bitter, bitter taste in his mouth.

This wasn't what he had wanted.

End of part


End file.
